JOLDEN  DAYS  OF 
E   RENAISSANCE 


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ViLLiAH  Randolph  KeltieYoung 


THE  LIBRARY 
OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 


IN  MEMORY  OF 

JOHN  DEBO  GALLOWAY 

AND  HIS  DAUGHTER 

BERTHA  GALLOWAY  FOSTER 


\ 


•Bp  Lxoliolfo  Laiuinnt 


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THE 

GOLDEX  DAYS  OF  THE  RENAISSANCE 

IN  ROME 


i'.\ri.  Ill 

From  I'anvinio's  "  MUigia  ct  imngines,''  edited  by  I.afreri  in  1568 


THE  GOLDEN  DAYS  OF  THE 

RENAISSANCE  IN  HOME 

FROM  THE  PONTIFICATE  OF  JULIUS  II 
TO  THAT  OF  PAUL  III 

BY 

RODOLFO   LANCIANI 

AUTHOR   OF    "ANCIENT    ROME    IN    THE    LIGHT    OF    RECENT    DISCOVERIES,"    "PAGAN    AND 

CHRISTIAN    ROME,"    "THE   RUINS    AND   EXCAVATIONS  OP    ANCIENT    ROME," 

"  NEW   TALES   OF   OLD   ROME,"    ETC. 

PROFUSELY  ILLUSTRATED 


^RiuergiOePr^l 


BOSTON  AND  NEW  YORK 

HOUGHTON    MJF'M  IJX   C^OxMPAXY 
(iClje  Iftitjerjaibe  press,  CambriDjje 


LIST   OF   ILLUSTRATIONS 


FULL   PAGE   PLATES 
Paul  III     ........       Frontispiece 

From  Panvinio's  "  Elogia  et  imagines,"  edited  by  Lafreri  in  1568 

Boniface   VIII    reading    the   Bull    Axtiquorum   from   the 

Loggia  of  the  Lateran     .......       5 

The   Grave    of    Martin  V   by    Simone  Ghini,    in    St.  John 

the  Lateran        .........     13 

The  Conventional  View  of  Medieval  Rome         .         .         .25 

With  the  Vatican  Obelisk,  the  Torre  delle  Milizie,  the  Pantheon,  and 
the  Column  of  Trajan  in  the  background  of  Ghirlandajo's  "  Rape  of  the 
Sabines,"  now  in  the  Colonna  gallery 

A  Battle  near  the  Gates  of  Rome,  by  Paolo  Uccello         .     54 

With  a  view  of  the  leading  monuments  of  the  city,  inchiding  the  Torre 
delle  Milizie,  the  Araeoeli,  the  Coliseum,  etc.     By  permission 

The  Remains  of  the  Baths  of  Constantine  in  the  Garden 

of  Bernardo  Accia.juoli,  on  the  Quirinal       .         .         .71 
A  View  of  the  Porto  Leonino  on  the  Tiber    .         .         .         .78 

To  show  the  place  (marked  +)  where  Santa  Francesca  Romana  was 
rescued  from  drowning 

The  Plague  of  Alexander  VII,  a.  1659    .    .    .    .84 

From  a  rare  contemporary  print  representing  the  following  scenes  : 
(1)  The  inspection  of  the  city  gates  by  Prince  Chigi.  (2)  Barge-loads  of 
corpses  from  the  Lazaret  in  the  island  of  San  Bartolomeo.  (3-5)  Various 
practices  for  fighting  the  plague  in  the  infected  districts.  (0)  The  "  field 
of  death,''  near  St.  Paul  outside  the  Walls 

The  Inundation  of  1900  .......     91 

As  seen  in  the  Piazza  della  Bocca  della  Veritk 

The  Monumental  Group  of  San   Lorenzo   fuori  le  Mura  105 

From  an  engraving  by  Israel  Silvestre 

The  Loggia  of  Giovanni  da  Udine  in  the  Villa  Madama. 

Details  of  the  Ceiling •  121 


vm  LIST   OF   /LLI'STh'.\T/(>XS 

ViKW   OF  THK   Rkmains   OK  TiiK   Tk.mi'm:  ok  tmk  Sux  in-   thk 

C\»1-«»NNA     tiAKDKNS     OK    TIIK    (.^t'lKlXAL  ....     1*24 

From  thf  ju'rsi>fi'live  plan  of  Koiiif  iiiiide  by  (Jiovaiini  Maj;'};!  at  the 
b«';;iiiiiin);  of  the  seventeenth  oenliiry 

TiiK  Makhlk  Plan  ok  Romk  KKfoxsTiiucTKi)  hv  thk  Author 

IN   TiiK  Gardkx  ok  thk  Pai,azzo  dk!  Con.skkvatoki  .  132 

From  ii  phuto{<;raph  by  Cav.  A.  Vochieri 

Tmk    C'kilim;    of   o.\k    of  Isabella's    Rooms    ix    the    Ducal 

Palace  at  Mantua     ........  laO 

A   Detail  of   the  "School  ok  Athens,"  with  the    Likeness 

of  Federico  Conzaga  .......  153 

Saint  Peter's  IGD 

As  it  would  have  appcand  if  Micliclani;t'l(>'s  plan  of  a  Greek  cross  had 
not  been  altered  by  Carlo  ^ladt-rno  into  that  of  a  Latin  cross 

The   Fall  ok  Phakthox   into  the   River   Eridanus      .         .  175 

From  a  cartoon  by  Michelangelo,  engraved  by  Beatrizet 

The  Mau.soleum  ok  Julius  II   ix  the  Chuk(  ii  ok  Sax  Pietro 

IX  VixruLis  .........  182 

The   Portrait   of   Vittoria   Colonna   hy  Poxtormo,  ix  the 

Gallkkia  Buonarroti  in  Florexce  .....  201 
The  Ducal  Palace  at  Ferrara.  where  Rexke  d'  Este  held 

Secret  MEETixtis  with  Calvin  .         .         .         .         .214 

The  Cathedral  of  Ferrara    .......  21G 

The  Vestibule  of  the  Galleri.\  degli  Specchi   in  the  Co- 

LOxxA  Palace.  Rome  .......  221 

The  Donna  Velata  ix  the  Pitti  Gallery       ....  237 

Considered  to  be  the  best  existing  portrait  of  the  Fornarina 

The   Alleged    Portrait   of   the    Fokxarixa  by  Sebastiano 

del  Piombo,  NOW  IN  THE  Uffizi  .....  241 
A  Leaf  from  Raph.a.el's  Architectural  Sketch-Book  .         .  249 

Formerly  in  the  Burlington-Devonshire  collection,  and  now  in  the  keep- 
injj  of  the  K.  I.  B.  A.,  Conduit  Street.  London.  The  facsimile  of  Raphael's 
handwriting  in  tlie  square  on  the  left  (the  words  are  "the  gum  of  the 
Pinus  cemhra  is  good  against  consumption  ")  is  taken  from  the  marginal 
notes  to  Fabio  Calvo's  translation  of  Vitruvius,  now  in  the  Munich  Library, 
n.  •_'H1 

The  Vision  of  Ezekiel.  ix  the  Pitti  Palace  .  .  .  259 
The    House   and   Bank   of   Bindo   Altoviti,  on  the   Tiber, 

destroyed  in  1889 277 

The  Villa  of  Agostino  Chigi  near  the   Porta  Settimiaxa, 

Kxowx  BY  the  Name  of  Farnesixa  .....  288 


LIST   OF  ILLUSTRATIONS  IX 

The  "Nozze  di  Alessandro  "  by  Sodoma,  in  the  Bedcham- 
ber OF  THE  Villa  of  Agostino  Chigi        ....  291 

From  the  engraving'  by  Mitterpock 

Part    of   the   Tomb    of   Cardinal   Ascanio    Sforza    in    the 

Church  of  Santa  Maria  del  Popolo  by  Sansovino        .  311 

A  celebrated  work 

The  Portrait  of  Leo  X  engraved  by  Antonio  Lafreri       .  315 
Thalia 323 

One  of  the  mne  Muses,  painted  by  Lo  Spagna  in  the  Consistory  Hall  at 
La  Magrliana 

ILLUSTRATIONS   IN   THE   TEXT 

Gregory  XI  entering  the  Gate  of  St.  Paul  on  his  Re- 
turn from  Avignon    ........       3 

The  Marble  Stairs  of  the  Aracceli,  built  in  Commemora- 
tion OF  the  Black  Plague  of  1348  (from  a  rare  en- 
graving in  which   women  are    seen  ascending  on  their  knees)       8 

The  Fish-Market  in  the  Portico  of  Octavia,  abolished  in 

1878 11 

PiNTURiccHio's  Fresco  Painting  in  the  Church  of  San  Cosi- 

mato,  with  the  Blessed  Virgin  between  St.  Francis  and 

Sta.  Chiara         .........     19 

The    Stone    Lion  of   the   Capitol    before    its   Restoration 

(from  an  engraving  by  Cavalieri,  1585)  .  .  .  .33 

The    Piazza    Colonna    in    the    Time    of    Paul    III   (from  a 

rare  engraving  by  Etienne  Duperac,  1575)        .  .  .  .37 

The   Palace   of  the   Cardinal   Titular  of   S.    Lorenzo   in 

LUCINA,    WITH     the     ArCO     DI     PORTOGALLO     SPANNING     THE 

CoRSO  (from  an  engraving  by  Israel  Silvestre)  .  .  .40 

The    Tower    of    the  Cesarini    Garden,    now    transformed 

INTO  THE  Belfry  of  the  Church  of  San  Francesco  di 

Paola 43 

The  Court  of  the  Massimi  Palace,  rebuilt  in  1532-36   by 

Baldassare  Peruzzi   ........     47 

A  Capital  from  a  Temple  on  the   Aventine,  transformed 

in  the  Middle  Ages   into  the   Baptismal   Font  of  the 

Church  of  Santa  Prisca  .......     52 

Another   Capital,  thrown   into    a  Foundation   Trench  of 

THE  Church  of  San  Saba  ......     53 


X  LIST   OF    ILLfST/rirmXS 

TiiK  Coat  of  Akms  ok  L'oi'nt  Kvekso  r>i>JLi  AxciuiLLARA        ,  56 
TiiK    Hkmhv  ok  Santa    Makia    dkll'    Amma,  thk   Natioxal 

C'ln  K<  II   OK  TIIK    I'kutons     .......  01 

TiiK  C'iirK(  II   wiiKKK  Imi'Kkia   wa.s  uukied  (a  snow  effect)         .  GO 

A     L.VNK    i»K    MkDI.KV.VL    RoMK — THK     LUNGAKIXA  —  DESTKOYEU 

IN   1SS0-,S2 75 

TiiK  Si-kino    of  Jitti'kn.v.    nk.vh    thk   Templk  ok  Ca.-^tok   and 

1*01,1. r.\  .........     77 

Tin:  (Jk.wk  ok  Makio   Ai.iu.ktoni.   who  diku  ok  the  Plaoije 

ON  the  2L'l>  Day  ok  July,   14<S5  .  .  .83 

A    MeOI.EYAL    H0U.se    left   .standing    OPPO.sITE    the  C'lU'Ki  h    i>f 

Santa  Ce(  ilia,   in  Tkastevere   ......     89 

The    IxrNDATiON    of    1'.M)0.    as     seen     in    the    Piazza    del 

Pantheon  .........     95 

The  Forth  a  it  ok  (iiuliano  i.e'  Medici,  Son  of   Lorenzo  (by 

Broiizino,  in  tlie  Galleiia  dcyli  Uffizi)       .  .  .  .  .97 

The  ••  Hellissima  "  Giulia  Farnese.  Sister  ok  Pope  Paul 
III  (from  the  allegorical  statne  by  Giiglidino  della  Porta,  in 
St.  Peter'.s) 102 

One  of  the  Courts  of  the  Palazzo  di  Venezia,  the  Favorite 
Residence  of  Paul  III  (by  Meo  del  Ca])rin()  and  Jacopo 
da  Pietrasanta) 113 

A    Corner    of    the    Palazzi)    Madama,  showing   Details    of 

WixDo\vs,  Frieze,  axd  Corxice  .....   117 

The  Court  of  the  Sa.s.si  Palace,  with  the  Works  ok  Art 
PURCHASED  IX  1546  BY  Paul  III  (from  an  engraving  ])y 
Lafreri) 127 

Part  of  the  Marble   Pl.vn   ok  Rome    (from  a  pliotograph   l)y 

Cav.  A.  Vochieri)  .  .  .  .  .  .  ,  .  .131 

Part   of  the   Frieze  of  the    Bedchamber  of   Paul  III    in 

THE  Castle  of  Saxt'  Axgelo  (by  Perino  del  Vaga)    .         .  136 

The   SnAtT   OF  the    Spiral    Stairs   ix   the   Castle   of   Ca- 

prarola  (looking  vertically) 139 

View  ix  the  Park  of  Caprarola 143 

View  of  the  Ducal    Palace  at  Mantua,  with    the   Bridge 

o.v  the  Mixcio     .........  148 

The  Hou.se  of  Domexico  da  Capraxica,  oxe  of  the  Few  Sur- 
vivixG  Specimexs  of  the  Rexaissaxce  Domestic  Archi- 
tecture IX  Rome 157 


LIST   OF  ILLUSTRATIONS  XI 

The    Mountains     of    Pk.exeste,    where     Michelangelo    is 

SAID  TO  have  taken  Shelter  IN  THE  Year  1520      .         .  159 

The  Enclosure  round  the  Pedestal  of  Trajan's  Column, 
BUILT  IN  Accordance  with  Michelangelo's  Suggestion  in 
1575 161 

The  Belvedere  of  Innocent  VIII  (from  a  sketch  by  Martin 
Heemskerk  made  in  1536,  seven  years  before  the  beginning  of 
the  fortifications  by  MicheUmgelo)  .....  167 

The    Bust    of    Bartolomeo  Baronino    in    the    Palazzo   de' 

Conservatori        .........  173 

Detail  of  the  Giudizio  of  Pietro  Cavallini  in  Santa  Cecilia  179 

Michelangelo's  best  known  Portrait  (from  an  engraving   by 

Antonio  Lafreri)      .........  186 

View  of    the  Vestibule    of    Michelangelo's    House  at  the 

Foot  of  the  Capitol    ........  189 

Bust  of  Michelangelo,  by  Daniele  da  Volterra  .         .  192 

Michelangelo's    Portrait,    modelled    in    Wax,    by    Leone 

Aretino        ..........  193 

View  of    the  Village  of  Marino,  the    Birthplace   of  Vit- 

toria  Colonna    .........  197 

The  Loggia  of  the  Pope's  Palace  at  Viterbo,  where  Car- 
dinal Pole  resided  as  Legate  from  1541  to  1545  .  207 

A  Bird's-Eye  View  of  the  Palace  and  Prisons  of  the  In- 
quisition, taken  from  the  Top  of  the  Dome  of  St. 
Peter's         ..........  209 

Cardinal  Pole  ..........  211 

The  Statue  of  Giordano  Bruno  in  the  Campo  de'  Fiori     .  213 

The  Sacristy  of  the  Church  of  San  Domenico  Maggiore, 
AT  Naples,  where  the  Remains  of  Vittoria  Colonna 
were  found         .  ........  225 

The  Window  of   the  So-called    House  of   the    Fornarina, 

BY  THE  Church  of  Santa   Dorotea  ....  233 

The  Judgment  of  Paris,  by  Marcantonio  (from  a  reprint  by 

A.  Salamanca)  ........  255 

The  Recumbent  Figure  of  a  River  God,  modelled  by  Mi- 
chelangelo IN  A  Clay  Bas-Relief,  formerly  in  the 
Gherardesca  Palace,  Florence        .....  257 

The  Woman    of  Samaria,  a    Panel    by  Lorenzetto,  in    the 

Chapel  at  Santa  Maria  del  Popolo        .         ,         »         »  263 


xii  L IS T   OF    ILLI '.S' 77.M  TfOXS 

Tin;   D.vNZATiut'i    B()K<;iii:sK.  now   i\  tiik   Loi  vkk      .         .  .  203 

Maii>i;ns  iiANi;i.\<;  a  Whkath  T(»  a  Candklauka,  a  Comi'AMo.n 

rirllKK  TO  TIIK  DaNZATUK  I.  !■  nlc  M  KI{I,V  JN  TIIK  ViLLA 
H(iK(;llKSK,    AND    NOW    IX    THK    LOUVRK  ....    264 

A    Hkii.nzk    Hki'Moa    ok   thk    ahuve,    xow    in   TIIK  Sali.k   dks 

C'akvatikks  .........  264 

Tin:   HorsK  ok   Ratiiakl   in   tiik    Ht)K(i(>   (from   an  engr:iviiig  by 

A.  LafiTii) 261) 

Tin:   lIorsK  ok  Raimiaki.  (dotted   lines),  transformed  into  its 

Prksknt  SiiAi'K   BY  Cardinal  Comendoxe  ix    ir)82  .         .  270 

Plan  ok  Vikw  kro.m  Kaphael's  House     .....  273 

TllK    Old    C'llAXNKL    CONXKCTIXCi    THK    OsTIA    SaLT-AVoKKS    WITH 

the  Ska  (the  j)ine  forest  of  Castel  Fiisano  in  the  back- 
ground)   282 

The  Coat  of    Arms  of  the   Bixi,    paixted   ry    Pierixo   del 

Vaga  ox  the  Ceilixg  of  their  Baxkixg  Premises  .  286 

The  Extraxce  to  the  Chigi  Chapel  ix  the  Church  of 
Saxta  Maria  del  Popolo,  with  the  Tomr  of  the 
Prixcess  Mary  Flamixia  uy  Paolo  Poji  ....  297 

The  Palazzo  Farxese  oyerlookixg  the  Garden  of  Agostixo 
Chigi  (a  view  of  the  district  by  the  Porta  Settiniiana,  taken 
before  its  modern  transformation)   ......   309 

The  Portico  of  Baccio  Poxtklli  in  the  Castle  of  La  Ma- 

GLIAXA 319 

The   Fountain  of  Pius  I\'  in  tiik  Court  of  La  ^Iagliaxa     .  320 


THE 

GOLDEN  DAYS  OF  THE  RENAISSANCE 

IN  ROME 


THE   GOLDEX  DAYS   OF   ROME 

IlS^   THE    SIXTEENTH   CE:N^TUBY 


CHAPTER   I 

THE    CITY 


It  is  said  that  when  in  the  year  1377  Pope  Gregory  XI 
restored  to  Rome  the  seat  of  the  supreme  pontificate,  — 
of  which  she  had  been  deprived  for  the  space  of  seventy- 
two  years,  —  there  were  not  more  than  seventeen  thousand 
people  Hving  in  the  ruinous  w^aste  within  the  old  walls  of 
Aurelian.  Whether  the  figures  be  exact  or  not,  those  few 
men  who  held  firm  and  faithful  to  their  native  soil  deserve 
the  gratitude  of  mankind.  Without  them  the  site  of  Rome 
Avould  now  be  pointed  out  to  the  inquiring  stranger  like 
those  of  Fideuie,  Veii,  Ostia,  or  Tusculum,  — places  fit  only 
for  the  exhumation  of  the  records  of  the  past,  and  doomed 
forever  to  silence  and  solitude. 

It  is  also  said  that  the  young  Pope^  w^as  so  affected  by 
the  transition  from  the  gay  and  refined  life  of  Avignon 
to  the  horrors  of  Rome,  that  he  died  of  grief  on  March  27 
of  the  following  year,  1378.  The  Romans,  to  wliom  his 
longing  for  "  le  beau  pays  de  France "  was  not  a  secret, 
treated  his  memory  with  contempt,  and  the  preserver  of 
their  city  was  buried  in  the  church  of  Santa  Maria  Nuova 
(S.  Francesca  Romana)  in  a  plain  coffin,  on  the  lid  of 
which  this  simple  epitaph  was  inscribed  in  Gothic  letters, 

1  Pierre  Rogier  de  Beaufort,  born  A.  D.  1336,  in  the  Chateau  de   Montroux, 
near  Limoges,  was  elected  pope  in  1370. 


'J  THE    II TV 

*•  lleiv  lies  the  luxly  of  tlic  Mossed  Pope  Gre«»()ry  XI," 
wltlumt  any  lefeieiice  to  the  iiTeat  deed  lie  had  accom- 
plished  at  the  eost  of  his  life. 

Things  were  allowed  to  rcinaiii  m  this  state  until  the  end 
of  the  sixteenth  centurv,  when  the  City  Council,  feeling- 
pangs  of  remorse,  voted  the  erection  of  a  memorial  in  the 
same  church,  selecting  among  various  schemes  the  one  pro- 
})osed  l)v  Pietro  Paolo  Olivieri,  who  had  achieved  fame  as 
an  architect  hv  the  erection  of  the  church  of  Sant'  Andrea 
dt'lla  Valle.  and  as  a  scnlptor  with  his  statue  of  Gregory 
XIII  in  the  Capitol,  and  his  bas-relief  of  the  Adoration  of 
the  Wise  Men  in  the  Caetani  chapel  at  Santa  Pudentiana. 

The  central  panel  of  the  memorial  of  Gregory  XI  repre- 
sents his  triumphal  entry  by  the  Porta  di  San  Paolo  on  the 
morning  of  January  17,  1377.  The  gate  is  surmounted  by 
the  coat  of  arms  of  the  Counts  of  Beaufort,  which  appears 
also  on  the  Hags  displayed  by  the  standard-bearers  at  the 
head  of  the  cavalcade.  Of  this  glorious  coat  of  arms  only 
one  specimen  survives  in  Rome,  in  the  frieze  of  the  canopy 
or  ciborium  of  St.  John  the  Lateran,  on  the  side  facing  the 
aj)se.  It  consists  of  two  groups  of  three  rosettes  each,  di- 
vided by  a  diagonal  band. 

I  have  purposely  begun  this  study  of  a  new  period  in 
the  artistic  and  historical  life  of  Rome  with  the  mausoleum 
of  Gregory  XI,  now  almost  forgotten,  because  as  the  column 
of  Phocas  marks  the  end  of  the  ancient  and  the  beginning 
of  the  mediaeval  periods,  so  the  grave  of  that  Pope  marks 
rhe  end  of  the  Middle  Ao^es  and  the  beffinnino-  of  the 
Renaissance.  The  transition  from  one  to  the  other  was 
neither  sudden  nor  noticeable  at  first,  but  the  simple  fact  of 
the  head  of  the  Church  having  taken  up  again  his  residence 
in  the  city  by  the  Tiber,  where   hundreds  of  thousands  of 


THE  CITY 


pilgrims  were  expected  to  assemble  from  every  part  of  the 
globe  each  quarter  of  a  century,  not  only  saved  the  city 
from  abandonment  or  final  collapse,  but  gave  it  a  new  lease 
of  life,  and  helped  it  towards  its  moral  and  material  regen- 


Gregory  XI  entering  the  gate  of  St.  Paul  on  his  return  from  Avignon 


eration.  In  the  period  of  one  hundred  and  fifty-seven  years 
which  elapsed  between  the  return  of  Gregory  XI  and  the 
election  of  Paul  III,  the  hero,  or  one  of  the  heroes,  of 
my  present  volume,  the  celebration  of  the  Jubilees  played 
a  leading  and  beneficial  part  in  the  life  of  Rome.  The 
streets  were  made  passable,  the  bridges  repaired,  the  houses 


4  THE   CITY 

(lisiiifcrtt'd,  the  n umber  and  the  at'cominodations  of  liospitals 
iiRTeased,  —  tlie  whole  city,  in  short,  was  made  to  assume  a 
less  t'orhiddini^  look,  and  transformed  into  one  vast  hostelry. 

The  oldest  memorial  eonueeted  with  the  .Jubilees  is  the 
fresco  by  Giotto,  once  in  the  Loggia  della  Benedizione, 
and  now  preserved  in  one  of  the  aisles  of  St.  John  the  Lat- 
eran,  opposite  the  Torlonia  chapel.  It  represents  Pope 
Boniface  VIII  between  two  cardinals,  announcing  the  open- 
ing of  the  "  Anno  Santo  "  of  1300,  usually  called  the 
'■'■  Giubileo  di  Dante "  because  the  divine  })oet  is  said  to 
have  visited  Rome  on  that  occasion,  and  to  have  met  there 
ImanuelBen  Salome,  from  whom  he  learned  the  few  Hebrew 
words  which  appear  in  the  "  Divina  Commedia." 

Giotto's  picture  is  not  historically  accurate.  In  the  first 
j)lace,  the  Lateran  was  at  that  time  in  such  a  state  of  ruin 
and  desolation  that  it  could  not  even  be  included  in  the 
nund)er  of  the  nine  churches  which  the  pilgrims  were  bound 
to  visit.  In  the  second  place,  the  Bull  Antiquorum,  which 
Pope  Boniface  is  seen  reading  from  the  loggia,  did  not 
institute  the  Jubilees,  but  only  confirmed  the  institution, 
being  dated  February  the  23d,  1300,  while  the  opening 
ceremony  had  taken  place  on  the  preceding  Christmas,  1299. 
Boniface's  attempt,  however,  was  not  a  success.  There  had 
been  no  sufficient  organization  and  no  proper  advertising, 
so  that  the  Christians  beyond  the  Alps  did  not  know  about 
the  Jubilee  until  it  was  too  late  in  the  year  to  undertake  the 
perilous  journey  to  Rome.  At  all  events,  the  clergy,  as  well 
as  the  lay  population,  saw  at  once  what  enormous  advan- 
tages, moral  and  material,  could  be  obtained  from  the  insti- 
tution, and  Pope  Clement  VI  was  petitioned  to  shorten  by 
halt"  the  interval  of  a  century  which,  according  to  the  Bull 
Aiitifjnonnn,  must  have  elapsed  between  two  celebrations. 
They  urged  the  Pope  to  consider  the  fact  that,  on  account  of 


BONIFACE  VIII    READING   THE  BULL  ANTIQUORUM    FROM 
THE   LOGGIA  OF  THE   LATERAN 


i 


THE   CITY  7 

the  excessive  length  of  the  interval,  two  generations  at  least 
would  be  deprived  of  the  privilege  of  the  plenary  remission 
of  their  sins  at  the  grave  of  the  apostles.  Clement  VI,  only 
too  glad  to  win  from  the  Romans  forgiveness  for  his  own 
secession  at  Avignon,  at  once  granted  them  their  request, 
and,  by  the  Bull  Unigenitiis,  another  jubilee  was  appointed 
for  the  year  1350. 

Those  were  sad  times  indeed  for  Rome  and  for  Italy.  In 
1348  the  black  plague  or  "morbo  nero"  had  carried  off  one 
third  of  the  population.  A  Genoese  ship  returning  from 
the  East  had  conveyed  the  infection,  the  first  victims  of 
which  were  stricken  unto  death  in  the  last  days  of  October, 

1347.  Eighty  thousand  people  died  at  Siena  ;  five  hundred 
a  day  were  buried  at  Pisa ;  the  ratio  of  deaths  in  Florence 
reached  sixty  in  a  hundred,  and  sixty-six  at  Bologna.  The 
"Chronicler  of  Siena"  (edited  by  Muratori)  was  compelled 
to  bury  five  sons  with  his  own  hands.  As  regards  Rome, 
we  have  no  definite  account  of  its  losses;  but  judging  from 
the  cost  and  the  importance  of  the  commemorative  monu- 
ment of  the  plague,  which  still  commands  our  admiration, 
they  must  have  been  great. 

I  refer  to  the  marble  staircase  leading  from  the  piazza  to 
the  church  of  Santa  Maria  in  Aracoeli,  erected  in  October, 

1348,  by  Giovanni  de  Colonna  with  the  spoils  of  the  temple 
of  the  Sun,  for  the  accommodation  of  the  panic-stricken 
citizens  who,  with  ropes  around  their  necks  and  with  ashes 
on  their  heads,  climbed  the  hill  barefooted,  to  implore  from 
the  Blessed  Virgin  the  cessation  of  the  plague.  The  image 
to  which  they  appealed  is  still  there,  one  of  the  most  popular 
in  Rome ;  in  fact,  the  church  of  the  Aracoeli  itself  is  the 
property  of  the  S.  P.  Q.  R. 

Another  disaster  marks  the  year  1348  as  the  most  fatal, 
perhaps,  in  the  history  of  the  mediaeval  city.   An  earthquake, 


/•///•;  (J TV 


wliiili  histeil,  at  intervals,  from  the  iii<)riiin<i-  of  tlie  9th  to 
tlie  evcniiii;'  of  the  lOtli  of  Se|)teinl)er,  shook  it  to  its 
fouiuhitioiis.    The  basiHca  of  Saiiti  ApostoH  collapsed;  the 


The  marble  stairs  of  tlie  Araeteli,  built  in  comraenioration  of  the  Black  Plague  of  lo4S, 
from  a  rare  engraving-  in  which  women  are  seen  ascending-  on  their  knees 


facade  and  l)elfrv  of  St.  John  the  Lateran  met  with  the  same 
fate  ;  St.  Paul  outside  the  Walls  was  transformed  into  a  heap 
of  ruins ;  the  outer  shell  of  the  Coliseum,  on  the  side  of  the 
Caelian,  the  nave  and  right  aisle  of  the  basilica  Maxentiana, 


THE    CITY  9 

and  the  upper  lialf  of  the  Torre  dei  Coiiti  Hkewise  fell  to 
the  ground.  The  citizens  who  had  escaped  from  the  plague, 
and  from  being  crushed  to  death,  lived  for  weeks  in  the  open 
Campagna,  without  shelter  from  the  inclemency  of  the  season. 
No  wonder  that  the  Romans  should  have  looked  to  the 
repetition  of  the  Jubilee  in  1350  as  to  their  only  chance  of 
salvation  after  so  many  misfortunes.  Gerald  Ventadour,  a 
layman  from  Limousin,  was  appointed  high  commissioner 
by  the  absent  Pope,  while  the  protection  of  the  pilgrims  was 
entrusted  to  Cardinal  Guy  of  Boulogne-sur-mer.  Accord- 
ing to  the  chronicles  of  Matteo  Villani,  twelve  hundred 
thousand  pilgrims  were  registered  in  Lent  alone,  which  is 
obviously  an  exaggeration.  Balme,  coming  nearer  the  truth, 
says  that  five  thousand  persons  a  day  were  seen  entering 
or  departing  by  the  city  gates.  If  there  were,  among  these 
penitent  wayfarers,  any  veterans  who  remembered  the  first 
Jubilee  of  1300,  they  must  have  believed  that  in  the  inter- 
val the  curse  of  God  had  struck  the  wicked  city.  In  1300 
they  had  beheld  the  presence  of  the  last  great  pontiff  of 
the  militant  Church,  and  had  received  his  blessing  from 
the  loggia  of  the  Lateran  Patriarchium  ;  now^  no  pope 
cheered  Rome  with  his  presence,  or  lent  her  in  her  distress 
a  helping  hand  ;  the  banks  of  the  blue  Rhone  offered  to  the 
bishop  of  the  lonely  city  a  more  enjoyable  residence  than 
those  of  the  muddy  Tiber.  In  their  peregrinations  from 
church  to  church  the  faithful  must  have  been  horrified  at  the 
state  in  which  the  houses  of  God  were  kept  or  were  allowed 
to  remain.  Grass  grew  on  the  marble  or  mosaic  pavements 
of  St.  Peter's  ;  the  Lateran  was  roofless,  its  windows  had  no 
shutters ;  rain,  cold,  and  wind  made  worship  impossible  in 
Santo  Stefano  Rotondo  and  in  St.  Paul  outside  the  Walls, 
while  other  minor  churches  were  used  as  haylofts  or  cattle 
sheds. 


10  TiiK  cirv 

Many  (U-tails  of  tlie  state  of  tlie  Ivoniaii  churches  at  the 
.luhilec  of  1 !)")()  can  l)e  jratheied  from  u  fra<»intM)t  of  the 
'•  I)escri])tio  Urhis"  made  by  order  of  Cohi  di  Rieiizo  l)e- 
twccn  l.'M  I  and  1)>-I7,  a  copy  of  wliich  is  iircscrxcd  in  tlic 
Uniyersity  lihrary  at  Turin."  In  g'ivin*^  the  catalogue  of  the 
four  liundred  and  fourteen  ])laces  of  Ayorsliip  which  existed 
at  that  time  within  the  l)oundaries  of  tlie  city,  the  author 
of  the  census  says  that  forty-four  had  no  attendants,  or 
keepers,  eleven  were  levelled  to  the  ground,  while  many 
others  had  no  roof  or  Avindows  or  doors.  Yet  these  half- 
ruined  estahlishments  gave  shelter  to  a  clerical  army  thir- 
teen hundred  and  three  strong,  representing  a  iifteenth 
part  of  the  whole  population.  Petrarch,  one  of  tlie  pilgrims 
of  1350,  says  that  the  city  gave  the  impression  of  having 
just  been  stormed  and  pillaged  by  a  barbaric  host. 

Things  were  allowed  to  remain  in  this  condition  until  the 
day  Cardinal  O(hlone  Colonna  was  raised  to  the  chair  of 
St.  Peter  under  the  name  of  Martin  V  (November  14,  1417). 
His  biographer,  Platina,  says :  "  He  found  Rome  in  such  a 
state  of  devastation  that  it  could  hardly  be  considered  a  city 
fit  for  human  habitation  :  whole  rows  of  houses  abandoned 
by  their  tenants ;  many  churches  fallen  to  the  ground  ; 
streets  deserted  and  l)uried  under  heaps  of  refuse;  traces 
of  plague  and  famine  everywhere."  With  the  Bull  et  si  in. 
cu  lief  aril  III,  published  on  March  30,  1425,  Martin  V  re- 
establislied  the  office  of  the  "  magistri  viarum,"  to  whom  the 
care  of  cleaning  and  reconstructing  the  city  was  entrusted. 
The  Bull  describes  incidentally  how  various  classes  of  manu- 
facturers and  tradesmen  had  occupied  and  made  their  head- 
quarters in  certain  antique  edifices,  still  capable  of  giving 
shelter.    The  butchers,  for  instance,  had  chosen  for  their 

'   Piiblislied  by    Papoiicorilt,  ])e  Hist.   Urbis  Nomae.  p.  53;  Urliclis,   Codex 
Urhis  Romae  Topographicus,  p.  170;  Ariuelliiii,  Chiese  di  Roma,  p.  47. 


THE    CITY 


11 


home  the  beautiful  forum  of  Nerva,  and  the  lower  arcades 
of  the  theatre  of  Mareellus ;  hence  the  name  of  Fundicus 
maGellorum  given  to  both  in  contemporary  documents. 
The  fishmongers  had  established  themselves  in  the  portico 
of  Octavia,  thus  causing  its  classic  name  to  be  superseded 


The  fish-market  in  the  portico  of  Octavia.  abolished  in  1878 

by  that  of  Forum  jnsclnrii.  The  tanners  were  making  use 
of  the  crypts  of  Domitian's  Stadium ;  the  lime-burners  and 
the  rope-makers  of  those  of  the  Circus  Flaminius ;  the  candle- 
makers  of  the  portico  of  Balbus  ;  the  glass-blowers  of  the 
baths  of  Agrippa.  The  other  available  ruins  had  long  since 
been  occupied  and  fortified  by  the  barons. 

Nicholas  Porcari  and  Marcello  Capodiferro,  the  first  com- 
missioners selected  by  the  Pope,  entered  into  their  duties 
with  fervor,  but  accomplished  little  or  nothing.  With  the 
exception  of  the  bridge  of  Santa  Maria,  the  ancient  Pons 
^milius,  repaired  at  the  cost  of  three  thousand  ducats,  of 
the  church  and  palace  of  Santi  Apostoli,  and   of  certain 


12  TIIK    CITY 

works  at  the  Lateran,  I  do  not  know  of  any  other  material 
ini[)i()venient  whit-li  the  city  owes  to  Martin  V  ;  but  as  in 
tlie  time  of  Augustus  his  friends  Plancus,  Cornificius,  Bal- 
hus,  I'oUio,  l*hilij»j)us,  Taurus,  etc.,  contributed  towards  the 
embelHsliment  of  the  capital  by  reconstructing-  at  tlieir  own 
cost  the  temple  of  Saturn,  the  temple  of  Diana,  the  crypta 
and  theatre  of  Balbus,  the  atrium  of  Liberty,  the  temple 
of  Hercules  Musagetes,  the  Statilian  amphitheatre,  etc.,  so 
tlie  cardinals  of  the  court  of  Martin  V  endeavored  to  follow 
his  lead  by  restoring*  tlieir  own  titular  churches  and  the  ad- 
joining- residences.  Thus  Jean  de  la  Rochetaille,  archbishop 
of  Rouen,  rebuilt  the  tltulus  Luvluae,  that  is  to  say,  the 
church  of  San  Lorenzo  in  Lucina,  and  the  palace  annexed 
to  it ; '  Alfonso  Carrillo  that  of  the  Santi  Quattro  Coronati 
on  the  Cielian  hill  ;  Giacomo  Isolani  that  of  Sant'  Eusta- 
chio,  and  so  on.  While  these  works  were  ])r()gressing  the 
Pope  died  of  an  apo})lectic  stroke  in  his  palace  by  the  Santi 
Apostoli,  on  the  twentieth  day  of  February  of  the  year 
1431.  Rome  mourned  over  the  loss;  under  the  just  and 
pros})er()us  administration  of  Martin  V,  the  Romans  had 
forgotten  tlieir  lost  re[)ublicaii  liberties.  A  contemporary 
chronicler  says  that  tradesmen  and  travellers  could  cross 
the  Campagna  with  gold  in  their  wallets,  without  danger 
or  fear.  Over  the  grave  of  Oddoiie  Colonna  was  inscribed 
the  l)est  title  of  honor  tliat  a  ruler  could  Avisli :  temporum 
suoRUM  FELICITA8  —  "•  the  hai)piness  of  his  times."  The 
praise  is  not  exaggerated  if  we  recall  to  mind  the  tril)ula- 
tions  which  the  people  had  suffered  at  the  time  of  the  great 
schism,  to  whicli  the  Council  of  Constance  had  put  an  end. 
F>ugeiiius  IV.  who,  on  March  3,  1431,  succeeded  Martin 
V  in  the  chair  of  St.  Peter,  brought  with  him  a  return  of 

1  The  palace  and  the  "  Arco  di  Portogallo,"  upon  whicli  it  was  partially  built, 
are  represented  in  the  illustration  on  p.  38. 


THE    GRAVE    OF    MARTIN   V    BY    SIMONE 
GHINI    IN    ST.  JOHN    THE    LATERAN 


THE   CITY  15 

the  evil  days.  The  infamous  way  in  which  the  city  was 
treated  by  the  Pope's  legates,  Cardinal  Giovanni  Vitelleschi 
da  Corneto  and  Cardinal  Ludovico  Scarampo  Mezzarota,  finds 
comparison  only  in  the  deeds  of  Genseric  or  of  the  Connetable 
de  Bourbon.  And  yet  Flavio  Biondo,  the  author  of  the 
"  Roma  Triumphans  "  and  of  the  "  Roma  Instaurata,"  the  first 
topographical  works  written  in  the  spirit  and  in  the  light  of 
the  Renaissance,  addresses  both  to  Eugenius  as  if  he  were  the 
best  and  kindest  friend  of  the  city.  ''The  Lateran  palace," 
Biondo  says,  "  had  lately  and  for  the  greater  part  fallen  to 
the  ground  ;  but  thou,  Eugene,  most  holy  Father,  hast  rebuilt 
it  at  a  great  cost,  adding  to  it  a  monastery  in  the  founda- 
tions of  which,  at  the  depth  of  eighty-two  feet,  beautiful 
columns,  statues,  and  marble  pavements  have  been  found." 
And  again,  speaking  of  the  Pantheon  :  "  The  whole  city 
sing  thy  praises,  Eugene,  for  having  covered  with  sheets  of 
lead  the  great  dome,  and  for  having  freed  the  columns  of 
the  portico  from  the  ignoble  booths  and  shops  which  con- 
cealed their  lower  half.  Thou  hast  also  paved  with  stone 
the  piazza  in  front  of  the  temple,  and  the  main  street  of 
the  Campo  Marzio." 

The  list  of  the  works  accomplished  under  the  following 
Pope,  Nicholas  V  (elected  on  March  16,  1447),  is  so  im- 
portant that  I  can  safely  present  him  to  the  reader  as  the 
first  improver  and  restorer  of  the  city  from  the  modern 
point  of  view.  No  doubt  the  approaching  celebration  of  the 
fourth  Jubilee  was  the  main  cause  of  his  alacrity,  but  it  did 
not  flag  or  vanish  after  that  event,  as  had  been  the  case  with 
his  predecessors.  Besides  the  general  restoration  of  the 
walls  and  gates  of  the  city,  of  the  bridges  Salario,  Nomen- 
tano,  and  Tiburtino,  or  Mammeo,  of  the  pontifical  palace 
adjoining  Santa  Maria  Maggiore,  of  the  churches  of  Santo 
Stefano  Rotondo,  San  Salvatore  de  Ossibus,  San  Giacomo 


10  THE    CITY 

tU'gli  Si»ai;iiii()li,  uikI  Santa  Maiinii,  and  of"  the  castle  of  !Sant' 
Angelo.  Nicliolas  \'  straii;liten(Ml  and  enlarged  the  Via  di 
San  Celso.  IcaduiL;'  to  the  J'^haii  l)ridi;('.  and  orcU'icd  his  aicln- 
tect,  Bernar(h)  IJosselhno,  to  (haw  a  "piano  regolatore  "  for 
the  inipioN'enient  of  the  IJoigo  Vaticano.  IlosselHno  nuist 
liaM'  had  st)nie  notions  ahout  the  Golden  llonse  of  Nero, 
from  the  j)lan  of  Nvhicli  he  seems  to  have  derived  his  insj)i- 
ration.  The  i)roject,  however  (a  summary  of  which  is  given 
by  Alveri,  "Roma  in  Ug"ni  Stato,"  vol.  ii,  p.  115),  was  as 
beautiful  as  it  was  ini])ra('tit'able.  The  good  Pope-Humanist 
died  on  the  twenty-fourth  day  of  March  of  the  year  1455. 
Following"  the  example  of  Augustus,  he  gave  to  the  cardi- 
nals gathered  around  his  deathbed  a  resume  of  what  he 
had  accomplished  in  the  eight  years  of  his  pontificate,  as  a 
pope  and  as  a  temporal  ruler;  and  the  progress  made  by 
Humanism  at  that  time  may  be  better  appreciated  from  the 
expressions  used  by  the  leaders  of  the  movement  on  the  occa- 
sion of  Nicholas's  death.  Mannetti  says  :  "  If  the  Immortals 
could  shed  tears  over  the  fate  of  the  mortals,  surely  the 
sacred  Muses  and  the  divine  Camoenae  would  mourn  over 
the  loss  of  our  Nicholas;"  and  Filelfo  repeats:  "  Hunc 
Musae  lacrhymant,  liunc  Phoel)us  luget  Apollo."  In  the 
crypts  of  St.  Peter's  the  marble  effigy  of  Nicholas  is  lying  on 
a  plain  stone  coffin.  As  one  looks  at  it  under  the  flickering 
light  of  a  torch,  the  thin  spiritual  face  seems  to  revive  ;  the 
lips  seem  to  cpuver  like  those  of  the  true  Humanist  absorbed 
in  the  perusal  of  a  newly  discovered  classic  text.  Nicholas, 
having  collected  and  placed  at  the  disposal  of  learned  men 
so  many  masterpieces  of  Greek,  Latin,  and  Oriental  litera- 
ture, has  won  a  place  of  honor  among  the  benefactors  of 
mankind. 

We  come  now  to  the  Haussmann  of  the  fifteenth  century, 
to  Pope  Sixtus  IV,  elected  on  August  9,  1471,  to  whom 


THE    CITY  17 

the  title  of  "Gran  Fabbricatore  "  —  the  Great  Builder  — 
has  been  attributed  by  the  historians  of  the  Renaissance.  It 
is  no  doubt  a  surprising-  fact  that  the  head  of  one  of  those 
mendicant  brotherhoods,  so  bitterly  denounced  by  the  Hu- 
manists as  hotbeds  of  ignorance  and  superstition,  should 
have  made  himself,  from  the  sublimity  of  the  pontifical 
throne,  the  champion  of  intellectual  progress,  and  should 
have  contributed  with  all  his  power  to  the  revival  of  art  and 
learning  in  the  capital  of  the  Christian  world.  Without 
preoccupying  himself  with  the  conflict  of  so  many  different 
aspirations,  this  old  general  of  the  Franciscans,  this  Fran- 
cesco della  Rovere,  most  humbly  born  at  Albissola,  near 
Savona,  revealed  an  astonishing  gift  of  organization,  and 
became  the  protector  of  men  of  letters  and  artists.  His  best 
titles  to  fame  are  too  well  known  to  be  described  in  detail : 
the  Sixtine  Chapel,  the  Vatican  Library,  the  Roman  Univer- 
sity reorganized  on  a  modern  scale,  the  Capitoline  Museum 
enriched  with  masterpieces  in  marble  and  bronze,  the  city 
improved  materially  and  morally  in  a  way  which  still  com- 
mands the  admiration  of  modern  reformers,  the  reconstruc- 
tion of  twenty-five  churches,  considerable  repairs  to  the 
castle  of  Sant'  Angelo,  to  the  Palazzo  del  Senatore,  and  to 
the  fountain  of  Trevi,  and  the  opening,  straightening,  and 
paving  of  the  many  streets  which,  from  the  bridge  of  Sant' 
Angelo,  radiate  in  the  direction  of  St.  Peter's,  of  the  Campo 
di  Fiore,  of  the  Palazzo  di  San  Marco,  and  of  the  Porta  del 
Popolo.  To  him  we  are  indebted  also  for  the  hygienic 
reform  of  the  Hospital  of  Santo  Spirito,  the  main  ward  of 
which,  three  hundred  and  sixty-five  feet  long,  was  made 
capable  of  accommodating  one  thousand  patients  ;  for  the 
restitution  to  its  original  place  of  the  beautiful  porphyry  sar- 
cophagus of  Constantia,  which  Pope  Paul  H  had  removed  to 
his  own  private  palace,  and  which  is  now  preserved  in  the 


IS  rill':  CITY 

hall  of  the  Greek  Cross  in  the  Vaiiean  Museiiin  ;  for  the  resto- 
ration of  the  et|iiestrian  hroiize  statue  of  Marcus  Aurelius, 
whiih  stood  at  that  time  in  fiontof  the  Lateran  palace;  for 
the  statue  of  Hercules  Victor,  discovered  in  the  Forum  lioa- 
rium.  of  which  he  made  a  present  to  the  city;  and  lastly  for 
the  l)rid«;e  across  the  Tiber  Avhich  still  bears  his  name,  the 
Ponte  kSisto.  Baccio  Tontelli,  the  Pope's  favorite  architect, 
has  left  marks  of  such  distinct  individuality  in  all  his  works 
that,  after  the  lapse  of  fom-  and  a  half  centuries,  both  his 
name  and  that  of  Pope  della  Rovere  are  still  popular  in  Rome, 
even  among-  the  lower  classes.  Sixtus  IV 's  "  armoirie  par- 
lante,''  a  qticrcKs  rohur  (Ital.  rovere),  is  still  seen  gracefully 
chiselled  above  the  entrance  door  of  our  dearest  churches, 
such  as  San  Pietro  in  Vinculis,  Santa  Agnese  outside  the 
Walls,  San  Vito  in  Macello,  Santa  Maria  della  Pace,  and, 
above  all,  San  Cosimato  in  the  Trastevere.  This  last-named 
church  with  its  quaint  interior  and  the  adjoining  monastery 
with  its  three  cloisters  and  five  gardens  are  among  the  most 
interesting  and  less  known  edifices  of  the  Renaissance  in 
Rome,  and  contain  two  masterpieces,  —  the  grave  of  Cardi- 
nal Lorenzo  Cibo,  one  of  the  best  specimens  of  the  Sanso- 
vines(pie  style,  which  was  transferred  to  San  Cosimato  from 
the  Cibo  chapel  in  Santa  Maria  del  Popolo,  and  changed 
into  an  altarpiece  in  1684  by  Cardinal  Alderano;  and  a 
mural  painting,  attributed  to  Pinturicchio,  the  equal  of  which 
can  hardly  be  found  in  Rome  for  sinq)licity  of  design,  har- 
mony of  coloring,  and  delicacy  of  expression.  This  fresco, 
of  which  I  give  for  the  first  time  a  photographic  reproduc- 
tion, represents  the  Virgin  Mary  between  St.  Francis  and 
Sta.  Chiara. 

We  Avonder  how  Sixtus  TV  could  have  accomplished  so 
much,  considering  the  financial  difKculties  with  which  he 
had  to  contend.    His  reign,  in  fact,  had  begun  disastrously; 


THE    CITY 


19 


Pinturicchio's  fresco  painting  in  the  church  of  San  Cosimato,  with  the  Blessed  Virgin 
between  St.  Francis  and  Sta.  Chiara 


to  replenish  the  cotters  of  the  Holy  See  he  had  been  com- 
pelled to  sell  the  magnificent  collection  of  gems,  medals,  and 
precious  vases  formed  by  his  predecessors  Nicholas  V  and 
Paul  II,  and  to  pledge  his  own  silver  plate.  These  resources 
exhausted,  the  "Apostolic  chamber"  resorted  to  other  ex- 
pedients, including  the  levying  of  new  and  heavier  taxes. 
We  do  not  know  the  cost  of  his  wars,  of  the  reconstruction 
of  so  many  fortresses,  and  of  the  imjirovements  carried  on 
in  Rome,  but  we  do  know  that  the  Pope  paid  at  one  deal  the 
sum  of  forty  thousand  ducats  for  the  purchase  of  the  estate  of 


20  rill-:  CITY 

Forli,  wliicli  he  i^avc  to  his  nei)he\v  Glrolamo  liuirio  ;  wa  also 
know  tliat  Girolanio's  brother,  the  famous  cardinal  of  San 
Sisto,  wasallowiMl  to  s(|iian(i(M-  iii  two  years  the  sum  of  two 
hundred  and  sixty  thousand  dueats,  equal  to  $2,U(J0,00(). 
This  youth,  Pietro  by  name,  was  a  simple  and  retiring- monk 
of  the  Franciscan  order  when  his  uncle  received  the  pon- 
tifical tiara,  and  made  him  at  once  a  cardinal  with  a  yearly 
income  of  sixty  thousand  ducats  ($300,000).  No  wonder 
that  the  sudden  transition  from  the  humble  dismal  cell  to 
the  splendor  of  an  almost  royal  ])alace,  from  penury  and 
monastic  fare  to  the  absolute  control  of  unlimited  wealth, 
should  have  turned  his  head  and.  set  him  on  the  wrong  path. 
And  yet,  when  he  died  at  the  age  of  twenty-eight,  in  con- 
sequence of  dissipation  and  excesses  of  every  description, 
the  people  mourned  over  his  bier,  and  regretted  the  loss 
of  so  liberal  and  generous  a  prince  of  the  Church.  The 
reception  which  he  gave  to  Eleonora  d'  Aragona,  daughter 
of  the  king  of  Naples,  wdien  she  halted  in  Rome  on  her 
way  to  Ferrara,  as  the  bride  of  Duke  Hercules  d'  Este,  must 
be  counted  among  the  wonders  of  that  period.  Received 
by  the  two  nephews  of  the  Pope,  the  cardinal  of  San  Sisto 
and  the  cardinal  of  San  Pietro  in  Vinculis,  the  princess  was 
led  in  triumph  to  the  palace  of  Santi  Apostoli,  where  the 
former  dwelt.  First  she  was  conducted  through  three  halls 
decorated  in  the  anticjue  style,  the  walls  covered  with  tap- 
estries of  inestimable  price,  and  the  floor  with  the  finest 
carpets  which  Egy])t  and  Asia  Minor  could  produce.  The 
furniture  was  worthy  of  the  splendor  of  the  apartments  : 
sideboards  lined  with  golden  plate,  tables  carved  out  of  a 
single  block  of  cypress,  lounging-chairs  of  satin  covered 
with  Venetian  lace,  and  a  fountain  on  the  basin  of  which 
stood  a  live  child,  nude  and  heavily  gilded,  holding  an  ewer 
from   which   flowed  perfumed   water.    The  princess's   suite 


THE   CITY  21 

comprised  fourteen  rooms  decorated  with  equal  lavishness. 
The  reader  wishing  for  a  more  complete  account  of  these 
Sardanapalian  feasts  may  consult  the  delightful  volume  of 
the  late  Costantino  Corvisieri,  entitled  "  II  trionfo  romano 
di  Eleonora  di  Aragona  nel  1473." 

The  Riario  brothers  found  a  rival,  if  not  an  equal,  as  far 
as  wealth  and  magnificence  are  concerned,  in  Guillaume 
d'Estouteville,  archbishop  of  Rouen,  cardinal  bishop  of 
Ostia,  allied  to  the  royal  house  of  France,  candidate  for  the 
papal  throne  in  the  conclave  of  Pius  II,  "  grand  seigneur  " 
in  the  best  sense  of  the  word,  and  "  rich  beyond  the  dreams 
of  avarice,"  to  quote  the  expression  of  Andrea  Fulvio.  To 
this  charming  prince  of  the  Church  we  owe  tAvo  artistic 
creations :  the  cathedral  of  Sant'  Aurea  at  Ostia,  in  which 
Baccio  Pontelli  has  mixed  up  with  fascinating  incongruity 
the  gothic  and  classic  styles,  and  the  ciborium  or  tabernacle 
over  the  high  altar  in  Santa  Maria  Maggiore,  the  master- 
piece of  Mino  da  Fiesole.  The  ciborium,  designed  on  the 
type  of  those  erected  by  Arnolfo  di  Cambio  at  St.  Paul's 
outside  the  Walls  and  at  Santa  Cecilia,  was  supported  by 
four  slender  columns  of  porphyry  and  carved  in  white  marble 
with  panels,  medallions,  and  statuettes  touched  with  gilding 
and  coloring,  after  the  manner  of  Mino's  school.  Having 
escaped  the  fate  of  renovation  and  disfigurement  which  the 
maniacs  of  the  seventeenth  century  inflicted  upon  so  many 
of  the  Renaissance  structures,  it  came  to  an  end  under  the 
pontificate  of  Benedict  XIV,  one  of  the  best  intentioned 
sovereigns  Rome  ever  had,  but  whose  pernicious  influence 
in  the  field  of  art  was  recorded  forever  by  the  destruction 
and  the  heinous  transformation  of  the  inner  attic  of  the 
Pantheon.  Benedict  XIV  having  substituted  new  capitals 
for  the  classic  ones,  having  destroyed  the  tabernacles  of  the 
Madonna,  of  the  Reliquie,  and  of  the  high  altar,  —  having. 


1:-  Till-:   CITY 

in  slioit,  taUt'ii  away  I'very  vestig'e  of  antitjuity  i'roiu  Santa 
Maria  Maoirioie, —  was  lewaided  witli  an  inseri]>ti()ii  extol- 
lliii;-  liis  deeds  in  these  words:  gvoD  sacham  akdkm  antea 

INCONDIIAM     AD    ELEGANTIAM    REVOCAVEKIT  !     Mino's    clbo- 

rinni  wonld  j)r<)l)al)ly  have  escaped  destruction,  but  for  the 
fact  tliat  Benedict  XIV  was  burdened  with  the  })ossession  of 
four  i;reat  j)or])l»yry  pillars,  which  he  was  determined  to  put 
into  use  ;  and  having-  failed  in  his  attempt  to  set  them  up 
in  St.  John  the  Lateran,  where  the  canons  pluckily  stood  in 
defence  of  tlieir  own  TaheniacoJo  dell  a  Cena,  he  won  the 
consent  of  those  of  Santa  Maria  Mag-giore  to  the  substi- 
tution of  his  rich  but  heavy  and  disproportioned  structure 
for  the  graceful  conception  of  Mino.  I  do  not  know  what 
was  the  fate  of  the  architectural  parts  of  the  ciborium, 
except  in  the  case  of  two  or  three  pilasters  which  were 
transferred  to  the  shrine  of  San  Girolamo  in  the  Capi)ella 
Montalto.  The  jjanels,  however,  and  the  medallions  were 
set  into  the  wall  of  the  apse  and  of  the  Chapter  hall  near 
the  sacristy.  The  four  statues  which  once  stood  at  the  four 
corners  of  the  ental)lature  were  sold  by  the  canons  in  1872 
to  a  dealer,  for  the  sum  of  one  hundred  and  twenty-tive 
francs  apiece,  including  in  the  bargain  a  bust  of  Sixtus  V, 
probably  the  work  of  Leonardo  Sormani.  The  name  of  the 
foreign  collector  to  whom  the  four  statues  were  eventually 
sold  ])y  the  dealer  has  never  ])een  made  known. 

D'Estouteville  was  ah-eady  in  his  eiglitieth  year  when  he 
undertook  the  reconstruction  of  another  church,  that  of 
Sant'  Agostino,  adjoining  his  own  palace.    His  name,  gvil- 

I.EKMV.S  DE   ESTOVTEVILLA    EPISC  •  OSTIEX  *  CARD  '  ROTHOMA- 

f;EN  •,  is  still  engraved  in  cubital  letters  on  the  facade  ;  but 
the  church  itself,  one  of  tlie  best  works  of  Baccio  Pontelli, 
has  been  shamefully  altered,  once  by  Vanvitelli  after  the 
fire  of  1750,  and  again  by  Pius  IX  in   1856,  and  many  of 


THE    CITY  23 

its  sepulchral  monuments  of  historical  value  have  been  either 
destroyed  or  removed  to  an  inner  court  of  the  convent.  The 
obsequies  of  Cardinal  d'Estouteville,  performed  on  Thurs- 
day, January  23,  1483,  g-ave  occasion  for  scenes  of  pillage 
and  sacrilege  not  unfrequent  in  those  days.  The  canons  and 
chapter  of  Santa  Maria  Maggiore,  incensed  at  the  partiality 
the  cardinal  had  shown  for  Sant'  Agostino  in  selecting  it 
for  his  last  resting-place,  attacked  the  bier  in  front  of  the 
high  altar,  and  laid  hands  on  the  vestments  of  brocaded 
velvet  which  had  been  spread  over  the  coffin.  The  populace 
followed  the  lead  of  the  canons,  and  a  general  scuffle  en- 
sued, at  the  end  of  which  the  floor  of  the  house  of  God 
was  covered  with  maimed  and  wounded  men.  The  bishop 
of  Bertinoro  reconsecrated  it  a  few  days  afterwards  with 
an  imposing  ceremony  of  expiation. 

The  successors  of  Sixtus  IV  did  not  follow  his  example  in 
regard  to  the  sanitation  and  the  beautifying  of  Rome.  With 
the  exception  of  the  Via  Alessandrina,  now  di  Borgo,  opened 
by  Alexander  VI,  of  the  Via  Giulia,  opened  by  Julius  II, 
and  of  the  Via  Leonina,  now  di  Ripetta,  opened  by  Leo  X, 
the  plan  and  the  aspect  of  the  city  did  not  undergo  any 
noticeable  change.  We  shall  see  in  the  third  chapter  how 
the  transformation  from  a  mediaeval  into  a  modern  city  was 
brought  about  by  the  advent  of  the  Emperor  Charles  V  in 
1536,  and  by  the  genius  and  foresight  of  one  of  the  advisers 
of  Pope  Paul  III,  Latino  Giovenale  Mannetti,  whose  name 
—  now  almost  foro'otten  —  ouo-ht  to  be  enofraved  in  letters 
of  gold  in  the  Protomotheca  of  the  Capitol.^  The  impor- 
tance of  the  works  Mannetti  was  able  to  accomplish  in  his 

^  Such  is  the  modest  name  of  the  Gallery  of  Fame  in  the  Conservatori  Pal- 
ace, to  which  the  portrait  busts  of  eminent  Italians,  formerly  in  the  Pantheon, 
were  transferred  in  the  time  of  Pius  VII.  In  the  recent  reorganization  of  the 
Conservatori  palace  the  Protomotheca  has  been  massed  into  two  inferior  rooms 
unfit  for  the  purpose. 


24  Tiih:  CITY 

(loul)le  capacity  of  **  niacstio  dclle  strado  "  and  of  "  com- 
missario  dclle  anticliita,"  with  the  help  of  the  two  Alessaii- 
dro  Fainese,  uncle  and  nephew,  one  Pope,  one  the  head  of 
the  Siiered  College,  can  oiilv  he  appreciated  hy  comparing 
the  state  of  the  city  at  the  beginning-  of  the  century  with 
its  condition  at  the  death  of  Paul  111. 

Let  us  choose  as  a  point  of  vantage  the  western  summit 
of  the  Caj)itoline  hill,  from  Avhicli  Poggio  Bracciolini  and 
his  friend  Antonio  Liisco  used  to  gaze  over  the  city  at 
the  time  of  Nicholas  V,  and  where  the  famous  description 
inserted  in  the  book  "  De  Varietate  Fortunae  "  was  pioba- 
bly  written  in  1447.'  Here,  also,  Martin  Heemskerk  sat 
day  after  day  in  loSG  while  drawing  the  beautiful  pano- 
ramic view,  now  preserved  in  the  department  of  prints  and 
drawino's  of  the  Berlin  Museum.-  What  would  have  struck 
more  forcibly  the  observer  in  those  days  was  the  smallness 
of  the  inhabited  space  in  comparison  with  that  enclosed  by 
the  walls  of  Aurelian,  —  perhaps  not  more  than  one  tenth. 
The  population  was  congested  in  the  narrow  belt  of  low- 
lands bordered  by  the  Corso  on  the  east,  by  the  Capitoline 
hill  on  the  south,  and  by  the  Tiber  on  the  west;  while  on  the 
opposite  bank  of  the  river  two  suburbs,  the  Borgo  and  the 
Trastevere,  clustered  round  the  churches  of  St.  Peter  and 
Santa  Cecilia  resjiectively.  This  restricted  area  was  by  no 
means  overcrowded,  each  monastery  being  provided  with 
a  garden,  each  church  with  a  cemetery,  each  palace  with  a 
fortified  enclosure,  in  which  the  retinue  of  "  bravi "  and 
outlaws  found  shelter  and  protection  from  the  feeble  hands 
of  the  law.    The  limits  of  the  inhabited   section  towards 

'  The  "  (lescriptio  urhis  "  of  Poggio  forms  part  of  his  l)ook  De  Varietate  For- 
zunae,  edited  for  the  first  time  by  Domenico  Giorgi  in  17li;}  from  the  original 
MSS.  then  in  the  possession  of  Cardinal  Pietro  Ottoboni. 

■■'  Published  and  illustrated  by  De  Rossi  in  the  Antike  Denkmaeler  of  the 
German  Archjeclogical  Institute,  vol.  ii,  plate  12. 


THE    CITY  27 

the  east  are  to  the  present  day  indicated  by  the  names  at- 
tached to  certain  streets  or  chnrches,  like  San  Giuseppe  "a 
capo  le  case,"  Sant'  Isidore  "  in  capite  domorum,"  and  Sant' 
Andrea  "  delle  Fratte,"  or  "'  inter  hortos,"  —  this  last  being 
an  allusion  to  the  hedges  with  which  the  orchards  of  the 
district  were  then  surrounded.  In  fact,  the  whole  space  now 
crossed  by  the  Vie  della  Mercede,  della  Vite,  and  Frattina 
was  an  unhealthy  swamp,  the  shape  and  aspect  of  which 
had  induced  early  topographers  to  identify  it  with  an  al- 
leged Naumachia  Domitiani.  And  again,  the  belt  of  land 
between  the  Tiber  and  the  Corso,  north  of  the  mausoleum 
of  Augustus,  and  now  crossed  by  the  Vie  di  Ripetta,  dei 
Pontelici,  di  San  Giacomo,  etc.,  was  occupied  by  vegetable 
gardens,  watered  by  means  of  norias  from  wells  excavated 
in  the  alluvial  soil.  The  same  state  of  things  prevailed  in 
the  Trastevere,  where  the  hollow  of  the  Naumachia  of 
Augustus  had  become  a  pond  named  the  "  Cavone,"  the 
property  of  the  nuns  of  San  Cosimato.  The  reason  which 
compelled  the  Romans  to  dwell  in  the  unhealthy  plains  of 
the  Campus  Martins  and  of  the  Trastevere  is  evident. 
Since  the  barbarians  had  cut  down  the  higher  aqueducts, 
like  the  Anio  Novus,  the  Claudian,  and  the  Marcian,  the 
hills  were  condemned  to  a  permanent  water  famine.^ 

The  city,  seen  from  our  point  of  observation,  ofPered  no 
striking  feature.  No  Tow^n  Hall,  no  Duomo,  no  Loggia  dei 
Mercanti,  the  three  characteristics  of  a  prosperous  Italian 
medicieval  town,  broke  with  their  imposing  mass  the  mo- 
notony of  the  scene.  The  basilicas  themselves,  —  St.  Peter's, 
Santa  Maria  Maggiore,  St.  John  the  Lateran,  —  w^ealthy 

^  The  Anio  Noviis  entered  the  walls  at  the  height  of  70. "40  above  the  sea  ; 
the  Claudian  at  67.'°40;  the  Marcian  at  SS.^GS.  The  highest  inhabited  point  in 
the  neighborhood  of  the  Porta  Collina  (corner  of  Via  20  Settembre  and  Via 
Goito)  stands  only  63."°  above  the  sea.  On  the  opposite  side  of  the  Tiber  the 
Aqua  Traiana  reached  the  Janiculuin  (83.°)  at  the  level  of  71.™16. 


28  riiK  CITY 

beyond  ])i'li('f  in  interior  ornamentation,  offered  a  shabby 
and  neglected  outside  ai)|iearanee  ;  in  fact,  tliey  eould  hardly 
be  sin«>leil  out  beliind  the  screen  of  cha})ter  houses,  monas- 
teries, and  titular  palaces  by  which  they  were  surrounded 
on  three  sides.  I  do  not  think  that  ten  churches  can  be 
counted  in  modern  Rome,  to  say  nothing  of  mediieval 
times,  which  stand  by  themselves,  isolated,  the  exterior 
decoration  of  which  harmonizes  with  the  beauty  of  the 
interior.  Founders  and  architects  alike  have  despised  the 
elementary  rule  of  making  the  two  harmonize,  —  of  making- 
the  house  of  God  as  perfect  in  the  mass  as  in  the  details, 
and  rendering  it  a  conspicuous  landmark  to  the  pilg-rim  or 
the  wayfarer  who  has  crossed  the  seas  and  the  mountains 
to  visit  the  o-raves  of  the  founders  of  the  Church. 

The  Capitol  had  justly  been  called  the  heart  of  the  medi- 
aeval city,  but  the  heart  had  long  ceased  to  beat,  since  the 
suppression  of  municipal  liberties  by  Pope  Eugene  IV.  This 
state  of  things  was  duly  reflected  by  the  outward  aspect  of 
the  hill,  —  silence  and  desolation  reigned  everywhere  ex- 
cept near  or  within  the  Senatorial  palace,  w^here  justice  was 
administered  for  a  limited  number  of  offences,  and  the  Con- 
servatori  palace,  where  the  Town  Council  was  occasionally 
summoned  to  ratify,  rather  than  to  discuss,  the  decrees  of 
the  omnipotent  Pope. 

The  western  summit  oi  the  hill,  once  crowned  by  the 
temple  of  Jupiter,  had  exchanged  its  classic  name  of  Capito- 
lium  for  that  of  "Monte  Caprino,"  from  the  goats  {c(ipre) 
which  came  to  browse  over  its  crags  at  each  return  of 
spring.  The  higher  platform  of  the  Monte  Caprino  was  still 
strewn  with  great  blocks  of  Pentelic  marble,  —  cornices, 
friezes,  capitals,  pedestals  of  the  temple,  —  because  the 
quarry  from  which  for  centuries  Rome  had  derived  its  best 
materials  for  the  workshops  of  the  Marmorarii  was   by  no 


THE   CITY  29 

means  exhausted.  In  fact,  the  records  of  a  regular  search  for 
marble  begin  only  with  the  year  1545,  when  Gian  Pietro  Caf- 
farelli  was  laying  the  foundations  of  the  palace,  now  the  seat 
of  the  German  embassy.  The  search  was  continued  by  the 
contractors  for  the  rebuilding  of  St.  Peter's,  and  many  pieces 
of  the  fluted  columns,  nine  feet  in  diameter,  found  their 
way  to  the  Vatican.  These  and  other  finds  are  described  by 
Flaminio  Vacca  in  the  following  terms  :  "  Upon  the  Monte 
Caprino  several  columns  of  Pentelic  marble  have  been  dug 
out,  with  capitals  of  such  magnitude  that  I  was  able  to  carve 
out  of  one  of  them  the  Lion  now  in  the  garden  of  Grand 
Duke  Ferdinand  of  Tuscany  by  the  Trinita  di  Monti  (Villa 
Medici).  The  other  marbles  were  used  by  Vinceuzo  de  Rossi 
to  carve  the  Prophets  and  other  statues  of  the  Cesi  chapel 
in  the  church  of  Santa  Maria  della  Pace." 

The  rest  of  the  surface  of  the  Monte  Caprino  was  occu- 
pied by  a  "  tiratorio  di  panni,"  or  yard  for  drying  clothes, 
the  property  of  the  Sordi  family ;  by  another  enclosure  where 
wheat  w^as  stored  in  wells  (i  pozzi  di  Campidoglio),  the  pro- 
perty of  Domenico  Persona;  and  lastly  by  the  "'forche,"  or 
gallows,  a  platform  facing  the  valley  of  the  Forum,  officially 
known  by  the  name  of  ''  locus  justitiae."  With  this  horrid 
place  is  connected  the  following  touching  story  :  In  June, 
1385,  Giordanello  degli  Alberiui,  a  nobleman  from  the  Rione 
de'  Monti,  imprisoned  in  the  dungeons  of  the  Senatorial  pal- 
ace, fearing  for  his  life,  asked  and  obtained  leave  to  make 
his  w411,  stipulating,  among  other  clauses,  that  his  heirs 
should  spend  two  golden  florins  in  having  the  image  of 
the  Blessed  Virgin  painted  near  the  place  of  execution,  so 
that  the  doomed  men  might  gather  strength  and  hope 
by  gazing  at  the  merciful  face  of  the  mother  of  God.  The 
image  is  believed  to  be  the  one  now  placed  on  the  high 
altar   of    the   church    of    Santa   Maria  della   Consolazione, 


30  THE   CITY 

Avhicli  stands  witliin  a  stone's  throw  of  the  nietliieval  "  locus 
jiistitiac." 

Till'  Capilolnn'  gallows  are  i;i\('ii  a  promnient  place  in 
ceitain  views  oi'  tlii'  citv  of  the  second  half  of  the  fifteenth 
centuiv  ;  for  instance,  in  that  painted  by  Taddeo  di  ]5ar- 
toh)  ill  the  cha})el  of  the  Palazzo  Conumale  at  Siena,  jmh- 
lished  hv  Stevenson  in  1881/ 

When  the  Monte  Capriiio  Avas  partially  excavated,  in  1896, 
for  the  huildino'  of  a  new  win<;'  of  tiie  municipal  offices,  I 
Avas  present  at  the  discovery  of  a  square  enclosure  or  ter- 
race, facing  the  above-mentioned  church  of  La  Consolazione, 
ill  the  centre  of  which  were  four  blocks  of  stone,  with  a 
square  hole  in  each,  as  if  intended  to  support  an  U}»ri<>ht 
beam.  I  have  no  doubt  that  this  was  the  "locus  justitiae" 
set  apart  for  the  execution  of  plebeians,  because  noblemen 
could  claim  the  privilege  of  being  beheaded  in  the  square 
of  the  Capitol,  in  front  of  the  Senatorial  palace.  It  is  just, 
however,  to  remark  that  the  magistrates  of  those  days,  pro- 
vided the  guilty  one,  or  the  one  supposed  to  be  such,  were 
really  done  to  death,  cared  little  how  and  Avlien  and  where 
the  deed  was  accomplished.  Thus  we  hear  of  Lello  Capocci 
beino-  beheaded  "  at  the  foot  of  the  second  column  in  the 
Sala  del  Consiglio  ;  "  of  the  two  sons  of  .lacopo  Cola  Santo 
hanged  from  the  windows  of  the  anteroom;  of  Giovanni 
Cenci  killed  while  descending  the  main  stairs  of  the  palace. 
As  a  rule,  the  senator  and  his  guests  witnessed  the  execu- 
tions from  a  balcony  which  had  ])een  purposely  built  and 
decorated  in  11  Ki  by  a  distinguished  citizen,  NicoUi  da 
Teano. 

The  gallows  of  the  Capitol  were  abandoned  ultimatelv  in 
1548,  and  transferred  to  the  Piazza  di  ponte  Sant'  Angelo. 
The  views  of  the  piazza  from  the  time  of  Paul  III  to  the 

^  BuUfittino  archeolngiro  comuniilft  di  Ilonui,  vol.  ix,  a.  1881,  pp.  74-105. 


THE    CITY  31 

Napoleonic  invasion  represent  this  second  "locus  justitiae  " 
as  a  court  enclosed  by  a  low  wall,  at  an  equal  distance  be- 
tween the  entrance  to  the  bridge  and  the  Torre  di  Nona. 

The  northern  slope  of  the  Capitoline  hill  and  part  of  the 
plain  below,  beyond  the  limits  of  the  present  Piazza  dell' 
Aracoeli,  were  occupied  by  the  public  market.  The  first 
mention  of  the  place  occurs  in  a  diploma  of  the  antipope 
Anacletus  II,  dated  1130,  in  which  the  property  of  the  dis- 
trict is  assigned  to  the  monks  of  Santa  Maria  in  Aracoeli. 
On  the  boundary  lines  of  the  market  there  were  marble 
tables  for  the  exhibition  of  wares  and  stuffs,^  and  in  the  cen- 
tre of  the  square  another  stone,  which  was  put  to  a  strange 
use.  A  debtor  who  had  failed  to  fulfil  his  engagements 
w^as  stripped  of  his  garments  in  the  presence  of  the  money- 
lender, and  thumped  thrice  on  that  stone,  and  made  to  re- 
peat each  time  the  formula  :  "  Pagatevi  creditori !  "  And 
again  :  the  city  officer  who  had  disobeyed  orders  or  taken 
unfair  advantage  of  his  position  was  condemned  to  sit 
astride  of  the  marble  lion  at  the  foot  of  the  stejjs,  with  a 
paper  mitre  on  his  head,  on  which  the  words  ''  mandati 
transgressor"  were  Avritten.  He  had  to  endure  the  pun- 
ishment, with  face  besmeared  Avith  honey  and  hands  tied 
behind  his  back,  as  long  as  the  market  lasted. 

This  stone  lion  played  an  important  part  in  the  mediae- 
val history  of  Rome.  There  were  two  lions,  in  fact,  one 
carved  in  marble,  the  other  painted  on  the  wall  supporting 
the  balustrade.  The  first,  represented  in  the  act  of  tearing 
to  pieces  a  fallen  horse,  was  thought  to  symbolize  the  pun- 
ishment of  crimes,  or  the  stern  justice  exacted  by  society 
from  its  offenders;  the  second,  represented  in  the  act  of 
patting  with  his  paw  a  starving  cur,  w^as  considered  to 
represent  the  clemency  and  equanimity  characteristic  of  the 

^  Like  those  appearing  in  the  illustration  on  p.  11. 


32  THE   CITY 

true  aiul  just  jud^c.  'I'lio  stoue  g'roup,  largely  restored  in 
tlie  time  of  Paul  111,  is  still  in  existence,  hut  it  has  lately 
heen  suhjected  to  unworthy  treatment.  This  group,  against 
wliich  Cola  di  Ivienzo  was  prohahly  leaning  for  support, 
while  listenino-  to  his  own  sentence  of  death  on  the  morning- 
of  Octoher  8,  lo.")4,  and  l)efore  which  Martino  Stefaneschi 
in  lo-iT  and  Fra  Monreale  in  135-i  were  handed  over  to  the 
executioner,  —  this  group,  in  short,  in  which  three  centuries 
of  the  mediieval  history  of  the  capital  are  reflected,  was 
removed  from  the  court  of  the  Conservatori  in  1903  and 
located  in  the  centre  of  a  vulgar  fountain  in  the  upper 
garden  of  the  same  palace. 

Let  me  conclude  these  remarks  by  stating  that  the  habit 
of  keeping*  live  symbolic  animals  on  this  sacred  hill  dates 
from  the  earliest  times  of  Roman  history.  At  first  there  were 
only  geese  and  dogs,  in  commemoration,  probably,  of  the  un- 
successful attempt  of  the  Gauls  to  storm  the  citadel.  In  the 
middle  ages  it  was  a  live  lion,  w  hose  keeper,  called  ''  custos 
leonis,"  received  his  salary  from  the  thirty  florins  which  the 
Jews  of  the  Ghetto  were  compelled  to  pay  on  Good  Fridays, 
in  memory  of  the  thirty  pieces  of  silver  with  which  their 
ancestors  had  remunerated  the  treason  of  Judas.  On  a 
Sunday  morning  in  the  year  1414  the  lion  escaped  from 
his  cage,  and,  after  killing  or  maiming  several  children, 
hid  himself  among  the  ruins  of  the  Palatine.  It  was  only 
in  the  later  part  of  the  day  that  some  men  from  the  Rione 
di  Ri|)a  traced  him  to  his  lair,  and  brought  him  thence  in 
triuni])!!  to  the  City  Hall.  These  old  traditions  are  not  for- 
gotten l)y  us,  and  we  still  keep  and  feed,  at  the  expense  of 
the  city,  a  wolf  and  an  eagle,  as  symbols  of  the  mythical 
birth  of  Rome  and  of  the  fortunes  of  the  Roman  Empire. 

On  February  15,  1353,  the  market-i)lace  was  the  scene  of 
one  of  those  popular  outbreaks  so  common  in  that  unruly 


THE    CITY  33 

affe.  It  seems  that  Stefanello  della  Colonna  and  Bertoldo 
Orsini,  both  senators,  had  exported  a  large  quantity  of 
■wheat  while  a  terrible  famine  was  pressing  the  city ;  and 
when  on  the  market-day  the  crowd  found  no  breadstuff  to 
purchase,  they  stormed  the  Senatorial  palace,  from  which 
Stefanello,  being  young  and  alert,  made  a  successful  escape. 


The  stone  lion  of  the  Capitol  before  its  restoration,  from  an  engraving  by 
Cavalieri,  158o 

while  his  colleague   Orsini,  a  heavier  and  older  man,  was 
stoned  to  death  by  the  infuriated  mob. 

The  market  boasted  of  heroes  of  local  —  and  dubious  — 
fame,  a  kind  of  forts  de  la  haUe.  Such  was  the  illustrious 
Tribuntio  Squazzetti,  to  whom  the  following  tablet  was 
erected  in  the  church  of  Sant'  Onofrio  on  the  Janiculura  : 
"  To  Tribuntio  Squazzetti,  a  commissioner  from  his  early 
youth,  later  promoted  to  the  rank  of  porter,  second  to  none 


34  THE    CITY 

in  earning'  lieavy  weiglits,  in  (U'canting  \vine,  and  in  play- 
ing tlu'  ganu'  of  tlu»  niorra  (in  (liniicationu  digitoruni).  .  .  . 
Stop.  wa\  t'arcr.  and  oll'cr  a  dranght  ot"  wine  to  the  worthy 
man  lorcvt-r  t lurst v."  AWmx'  it  not  for  the  authority  of  the 
learned  Caneellieri,  who  Nouehes  for  the  authenticity  of  the 
text,  we  should  hardly  have  thought  it  possii)le  that  such  a 
profane  memorial  could  he  exhibited  in  a  Christian  church. 

The  market  was  removed  from  the  foot  of  the  Capitol  to 
the  Piazzii  Navona  by  Cardinal  Guillanme  d'Estouteville  in 
the  year  1477,  another  step  taken  hy  that  illustrious  prelate 
towards  the  reform  of  the  municipal  administration  in 
liome.  The  cardinal's  institution  lasted  to  my  own  days ; 
and  I  well  remember  the  sight  of  that  vast  piazza  teeming 
with  life  on  Wednesday  mornings,  with  its  thousand  stalls 
and  hooths,  in  which  all  kinds  of  marketable  goods  were 
exhibited,  a  sight  far  more  interesting  and  picturescpie  than 
that  of  the  present  rag  fair  at  the  Campo  de'  Fiori.^ 

The  old  Capitoline  institution  was  revived  once  only  in 
the  course  of  the  last  four  centuries,  in  the  year  1810,  on 
the  name-day  of  the  Emperor  Napoleon,  of  whose  dotninions 
Rome  then  formed  a  part.  The  description  of  this  fair  is 
to  be  found  in  nos.  107-114:  of  the  ofhcial  Gazette  of  that 
time,  —  the  "  Gazetta  del  Campodoglio." 

Let  us  now  descend  from  our  post  of  observation  and  fol- 
low the  two  principal  thoroughfares  of  the  city  of  that  day, 
—  the  Via  Lata,  corresponding  to  the  classic  Flaminia  and 
to  the  modern  Corso,  the  main  line  of  communication  from 
north  to  south,  and  the  Via  Papae,  running  westward  from 
the  Corso,  in  the  direction  of  St.  Peter's. 

The  Corso  had  been  a  fashionable  street  since  the  time 
of  Paul  II,  the  builder  of  the  Palazzo  di   Venezia,  who  in 

'  The  market  was  traiisfcrrccl  from  the  Piazza  Navona  to  tlie  Campo  do'  Fiori 
in  tlie  last  years  of  Pius  IX. 


THE   CITY  35 

14G5  introduced  for  the  first  time  in  the  capital  of  the 
Pontifical  States  the  celebration  of  the  Carnival.  A  Venetian 
of  noble  family,  fond  of  luxury  and  magnificence,  Paul  II 
thought  that  the  more  amusement  the  people  were  allowed 
to  enjoy,  the  readier  they  would  be  to  forget  their  aspira- 
tions to  municipal  liberties.  At  the  same  time  he,  a  patrician 
by  birth  and  by  feelings,  could  certainly  not  approve  of  the 
bloody  and  brutal  sports  so  dear  to  mediseval  Romans,  such 
as  bull- fights,  tournaments,  and  chariot-races,  which  never 
ended  w^ithout  loss  of  life.  When  we  think  that  the  most 
popular  amusement  was  the  so-called  "  Giuoco  di  Testaccio," 
in  which  bull-carts  laden  with  live  pigs  were  hurled  down 
the  slopes  of  Monte  Testaccio,  with  evident  risk  of  life  to 
the  daring  youths  who  tried  to  seize  the  pigs  in  their  wild 
descent ;  and  that  stands  were  erected  on  these  occasions  for 
the  patrician  matrons  and  maidens  to  witness  the  revolting 
spectacle,  we  do  not  wonder  at  the  attempt  made  by  the 
Venetian  pope  to  bring  about  a  less  brutal  spirit  of  amuse- 
ment. He  selected  the  Corso,  the  whole  extent  of  which  he 
could  command  from  the  corner  balcony  of  his  palace,  for  the 
racing  competitions,  which  he  organized  on  a  grand  scale. 
The  events  for  the  Carnival  of  1465  included  races  of  horses, 
donkeys,  oxen,  and  buffaloes,  which,  however,  brought  about 
the  same  results,  and  were  the  cause  of  many  accidents 
among  the  cro^vd  which  lined  the  Corso,  on  account  of  the 
narrowness  of  the  street.  Then  followed  competitions  of 
speed  between  children,  youths,  and  old  men,  the  prize,  a 
paUio,  being  a  piece  of  Venetian  red  cloth  of  the  value  of 
thirty-six  scudi. 

The  principal  attraction  —  Je  clou  de  la  fete  —  was  un- 
doubtedly the  racing  of  the  Jews.  It  was  the  first  time 
that  they  w^ere  obliged  to  take  a  share  in  the  Carnival,  more 
personally  than  they  desired.    Disguised   in  fantastic  cos- 


o(J  TJIE    CITY 

tiiines,  tliev  wciv  t'()mj)elli'(l  to  run  for  tlie  jxiU'io^  driven  on 
by  the  yells  and  insults  of  the  heartless  crowd  ;  and  whenever 
they  shickened  speed  from  sheer  fati<jue,  or  in  protest  against 
the  persecution,  they  were  hurried  on  hy  mounted  soldiers 
galloping-  behind  them.  In  the  following  years  the  original 
institution  of  Paul  11  degenerated  into  license  and  cruelty. 

The  track  was  lenothened  from  one  thousand  to  thirteen 
hundred  yards,  and  the  unfortunate  champions  o£  the  Ghetto 
were  forced  to  take  a  copious  repast  before  racing,  and, 
incredible  as  it  may  appear  to  the  reader,  it  was  decided  to 
shorten  the  blouse  which  the  runners  wore  —  for  the  Chris- 
tians, as  much  as  was  strictly  consistent  with  decency ;  for 
the  Jews,  without  any  reference  to  it.  We  hear  also  of  com- 
petitions between  hunchbacks  and  lame  men.  Montaigne 
witnessed  in  1580  a  race  of  absolutely  nude  competitors,  — 
''•  On  fait  courir  a  I'envi  tantot  quatre  ou  cinq  enfants, 
tantot  des  Juifs,  tantot  des  vieillards  tout  nus." 

The  Carnival  festivities  were  generally  attended  by  the 
cudgelling  of  minor  offenders  in  the  Piazze  Colonna,  di 
Sciarra,  or  di  Venezia,  and  by  the  execution  of  criminals 
in  the  Piazza  del  Popolo,  the  hangman  and  his  assistants 
donning  the  costume  of  harlequins  and  punchinellos.  The 
minor  offenders  were  mostly  vulgar  women,  who  had  in- 
fringed police  regulations,  but  the  victims  of  the  hangman 
were  selected  with  greater  care  among  the  nobility  and  the 
clergy.  It  is  enough  to  quote  the  names  of  Count  Soderini, 
executed  on  Shrove  Tuesday,  1650,  of  the  Abbe  Volpini, 
hanged  in  the  Carnival  of  1720,  and  of  Count  Trivelli,  who 
perished  in  that  of  1737. 

These  cruel  amusements  were  not  those,  surely,  which 
Paul  II,  the  gentle  Venetian,  had  thought  to  offer  to  the 
Romans.  However,  when  institutions  like  the  Carnival  are 
transferred  from  one  country  to  another,  they  can  survive 


THE    CITY 


37 


only  by  shaping  and  adapting  themselves  to  the  natnre 
and  requirements  of  the  new  soil.  The  Grecian  athletes, 
once  transplanted  to  Rome,  became  gladiators. 

The  Via  del  Corso,  in  which  the  Carnival  has  been  cele- 
brated from  the  time  of  Paul  II  to  our  own  days,  then 
followed  only  approximately  the  straight  line  of  the  Via 
Flaminia,  and  its  level  was  most  irreo-ular.    It  did  not  start 


The  Piazza  Colonna  in  the  time  of  Paul  III,  from  a  rare  engraving  by 
Etienne  Duperac,  1575 


from  the  Piazza  di  Venezia,  which  was  opened  in  1536,  but 
from  the  tomb  of  C.  Poplicius  Bibulus  at  the  foot  of  the 
Tarpeian  Rock,^  seven  hundred  feet  more  to  the  south. 
The  pilgrim,  advancing  northwards,  in  the  direction  of  the 
Porta  del  Popolo,  must  have  been  struck  by  the  number 
and  magnitude  of  the  ruins  of  classic  edifices  which  lined 
the  road,  leaving  but  little  space  for  habitations.    The  lofty 

1  The  name  Tarpeian  Rock,  contrary  to  the  received  notion  and  to  popular 
belief  in  Rome,  belongs  to  the  cliff  of  the  Capitoline  hill,  facing  the  north,  under 
the  walls  of  the  Arx  or  citadel.  P^pigraphic  records  of  it  have  been  found  in  situ 
in  the  foundations  of  the  monument  to  Victor  Emmanuel  at  the  side  of  the  Via 
della  Pedacchia. 


38  77//;   CITY 

arcades  of  tlu'  St'pta  .lulia  extfiidcd  as  far  as  the  Piazza  di 
St'iarra  on  the  site  of  the  jiresent  })alace8  d'  Aste  (Bonaparte), 
Doria,  and  Simonetti,  and  of  the  present  churches  of  Santa 
Maria  in  Via  and  San  Fiancesco  Saverio  (Caravita).  On  the 
opposite  side  of  the  road,  and  facing'  the  cohinin  of  Mar- 
ens  Aurelins,  rose  tlie  remains  of  the  Porticns  Vipsania  on 
the  site  of  the  Palazzi  Bonaccorsi  and  Pionibino  (now  de- 
molished), and,  farther  on,  those  of  the  Horti  Largiani,  in 
such  good  preservation  tliat  Palladio  was  able  to  draw  their 
plan  in  its  most  minute  details.  These  gardens  and  the 
colonnade  by  which  thev  were  surrounded  had  their  frontage 
on  the  Corso  extending  from  the  Via  di  San  Claudio  to  the 
Via  Frattina.  At  this  point,  viz.,  at  the  height  of  the  church 
of  San  Lorenzo  in  Lucina,  all  traces  of  city  life  ceased,  and 
the  road  entered  a  belt  of  orchards  and  gardens  with  hardly 
a  trace  of  human  habitation  save  in  the  neighborhood  of 
the  Ortaccio  (the  present  Piazza  di  Monte  d'  Oro),  where 
women  of  ill  fame  dwelt  in  wretched  hovels.  The  most  con- 
s})icuous  features  in  this  marshy  waste  were  the  mausoleum 
of  Augustus,  called  "  lo  monte  dell'  Austa,"  and  a  great 
pyramid  on  the  site  of  the  present  church  of  Santa  Maria  dei 
Miracoli.  The  pyramid,  the  grave  of  an  illustrious  Roman 
whose  name  is  not  known,  Avas  stripped  of  its  coating  of 
niarl)le  by  Pope  Sixtus  IV,  and  the  blocks  were  used  in  the 
construction  of  the  towers  flanking  the  Porta  del  Popolo.  The 
shell,  which  still  c(mstituted  a  landmark  of  some  importance 
under  the  name  of  ^Nleta  Populi,  was  levelled  to  the  ground 
in  the  time  of  Paul  III. 

The  road  itself  was  spanned  by  three  triumphal  arches, 
the  first  of  wdiicli,  near  the  church  of  Santa  Maria  in  Via, 
was  destroyed  by  Pope  Innocent  VIII  in  the  month  of  Au- 
gust, 1491 .  The  oldest  guide-books  call  it  the  "  arcus  novus," 
just  as  they  call  the  one  raised  by  Maxentius  on  the  Sacred 


THE   CITY  39 

Way  "basilica  nova."  We  may  argue,  therefore,  from  the 
name  that  the  arch  was  probably  dedicated  to  one  of  the 
emperors  of  the  Constantinian  era. 

The  second  arch  spanned  the  road  just  in  front  of  the 
Sciarra  palace,  and  answered  a  double  purpose,  —  that  of 
carrying  the  Aqua  Virgo  across  the  road  to  its  terminal 
fountain  and  reservoir  by  the  present  church  of  Sant'  Ignazio, 
and  that  of  celebrating  and  recording  the  capture  of  King 
Caractacus  and  tlie  "  annexation  of  barbarous  trans-oceanic 
lands  "  by  the  Emperor  Claudius.  I  have  related  the  curi- 
ous history  of  this  structure  in  chapter  vii  of  "New  Tales 
of  Old  Rome." 

The  third  arch,  named  Arco  di  Portooallo  from  its  con- 
tiguity  to  the  residence  of  the  cardinal-ambassador  of  that 
country,  as  shown  in  the  following  illustration,  was  de- 
stroyed by  Pope  Alexander  VII  in  1662.  The  inscription 
recording  the  fact  is  still  affixed  to  the  corner  house  between 
the  Corso  and  the  Via  della  Vite.  We  have  no  knowledge 
of  the  origin  and  classic  name  of  the  arch  ;  but  we  know 
that  it  was  only  a  patchwork  of  older  materials  made  in  the 
fourth  century  after  Christ.  The  story  of  the  dispersion  of 
its  parts  is  remarkable.  Two  panels  from  the  north  front 
of  the  arch,  representing,  one  the  apotheosis  of  Faustina 
the  younger,  the  other  an  allocution  of  M.  Aurelius,  were 
removed  to  the  Conservatori  palace ;  two  columns  of  rerde 
anfico  were  made  use  of  in  the  construction  of  the  high 
altar  of  the  church  of  Santa  Ao-nese  in  Ao-one  ;  a  second 
pair  are  now  to  be  found  in  the  Corsini  chapel  at  the  Lat- 
eran.  The  key  of  the  arch  is  preserved  in  the  lower  vesti- 
bule of  the  University  della  Sapienza. 

The  aspect  of  the  second  thoroughfare,  which  left  tha 
Piazza  di  Venezia  in  the  direction  of  the  Ponte  Sant'  Angelo 
and  the  Vatican,  was  quite  different  from  that  of  the  Corso, 


40  Tiih:  CITY 

hocaust"  it  crossed  tlic  heart  ol'  the  medueval  and  Reiiaissuuce 
city,  the  popuhms  and  noisy  (juarters  of  the  Pi<j^na,  8ant' 
Eustaeliio.  Parione.  and  I'onte.  Its  name  of  "  Via  Papae" 
or  "  Strachi  Papale  ''  originated  from  the  fact  that  the  newly 
elected  Popes  followed  its  winding'  course,  while  riding  in 
state  from  St.  Peter's  to  the  Lateran,  to  take  })ossession  of 
the  episco})al  chair.  The  history  of  these  "  solenni  possessi  " 
has  been  written  with  his  nsual  marvellous  erudition  by 
Francesco  Cancellieri,  in  a  volume  })nblished  by  Lazzarini 
in  1S02,'  in  which  a  full  account  is  given  of  the  houses, 
palaces,  cliurches,  shops,  baidvs,  and  ofBces  which  lined  the 


J  (olfetir    de  Larc    de  Portugal    (itue    dam  Ll  rue  au  Couri     a.  Ronu^. 


Tlie  palace  of  the  (anlni.il  liliil.if  (jf  .^    ],(iicii/.()  in  Lui'liia.  witli  tin-  Arco  di 
Portogallo  spanning'  the  Corso,  from  an  enjf raving'  by  Israel  Silvestre 

Pope's  highway.  There  is  also  a  pam})hlet  by  Adinolfi, 
dealing  with  the  same  subject  and  full  of  equally  useful 
information,  "  La  via  sacra  o  del  Papa,"  Rome,  1865. 

The  list  of  the  patricians  owning  property  with  frontage 
on   the  Via   Papale  includes  the   names  of  the  Caffarelli, 

^  Storia    de'  xolenni  Pos.iessi  de'  Sommi  pontejici  da  Leone  III  a  Pio  VII. 
Roma,  presso  Luigi  Lazzarini,  m.dccc.u. 


THE    CITY  41 

Fiesclii  di  Lavagna,  Piccolomiiii,  Orsini,  Leroy  (Regis), 
Lanciarini  da  Faiio,  della  Valle,  Massimi,  and  Cesarini,  while 
the  princes  of  finance  made  the  Quartiere  dei  Banchi  the 
richest  section  of  the  street  and  one  of  the  richest  in  the 
workl.  This  historical  highway  of  the  Popes  has  lost,  unfor- 
tunately, its  individuality  since  1880,  having  been  absorbed 
in  a  great  measure  by  the  new  Corso  Vittorio  Emanuele. 
Still,  a  walk  through  the  preserved  sections,  which  include 
the  Via  del  Governo  Vecchio,  di  Monte  Giordano,  and  dei 
Banchi  Nuovi,  cannot  fail  to  rouse  the  interest  of  the 
stranger,  notwithstanding  the  modernization  undergone  by 
many  of  the  buildings. 

From  the  point  of  view  of  the  movement  of  the  Renais- 
sance, two  dwellings  deserve  special  attention,  —  the  Cesarini 
and  the  Massimi.  The  first  palace,  or  whatever  is  left  of  it, 
stands  between  the  church  of  San  Nicolo  a  Cesarini  and  the 
Via  deir  Arco  dei  Ginnasi  on  the  left  side  of  the  Corso 
Vittorio  Emanuele.  Founded  in  1444  by  Cardinal  Giuliano 
the  elder,  it  was  enlarged  and  enriched  with  antiques  by  his 
nephew  and  namesake,  Giuliano  the  younger,  made  cardinal 
by  Alexander  VI  in  1493.  To  this  enlightened  prelate  we 
owe  the  creation  of  the  first  villa-museum  or  garden-museum, 
made  accessible  to  students  and  visitors  on  May  20  of  the 
first  year  of  the  new  (sixteenth)  century.  Cardinal  Giuliano, 
therefore,  must  be  considered  the  pioneer  of  that  splendid 
race  of  villa-builders,  collectors  of  ancient  and  Renaissance 
masterpieces,  benefactors  of  art,  educators  of  their  country- 
men, the  Cesi,  the  Grimani,  the  Caraifa,  the  d'  Este,  the  Carpi, 
the  Farnese,  the  Maffei,  the  Soderini,  and  the  Vittori,  to 
whom  Rome  was  indebted  for  its  best  attractions,  which, 
alas  !  exist  no  more.  The  Cesarini  villa  was  laid  out  in  ter- 
races on  the  slope  of  the  Cespian  near  San  Pietro  in  Vincu- 
lis,  on  the  area  of  which  the  church  and  monastery  of  San 


42  '/'III-:  CITY 

Fiaiict'st'o  (li  Paolu  now  stand.  Tlie  followino-  inscription 
placed  above  the  entrance  ^ate  recorded  tiie  openinjj;'  ot"  the 
garden  :  ''  I,  GiuHano  Cesarini,  cardinal  deacon  of  Sant' 
Angclo  HI  Pcschciia.  Ikiac  ojx'iied  tor  \\\\  own  recreation  and 
for  the  pleasure  of  my  relatives  and  friends,  this  oarden  of 
statues  on  uiy  thirty-fonrtli  birthday,  namely  on  May  20  of 
the  eighth  year  of  Alexander  VI,  of  the  fifteen  hundredth 
of  our  Lord,  and  of  the  two  thousand  two  hundred  and 
thirty-third  of  Home."  Underneath  were  to  be  read  the 
regulations  for  visitors  couched  in  an  exquisite  epigram 
of  four  distichs,  the  text  of  which  is  given  in  Schrader's 
'*•  Monumenta,"  p.  217.  A  short  catalogue  of  the  contents 
of  this  g'arden,  which  included  the  panels  of  the  above- 
mentioned  arch  of  Claudius  in  the  Piazza  di  Sciarra,  is  to  be 
found  in  vol.  ii  of  my  "  Storia  degli  Scavi,"  p.  134.  Vacca 
mentions  this  curious  anecdote  :  "  I  remember  that  Messer 
Giovan  Giorgio  Cesarini,  the  standard-bearer  of  the  Popolo 
Romano,  purchased  a  column  of  cipollino,  which  had  been 
discovered  in  the  forum  of  Trajan  by  Sebastiano  Piglialarme, 
for  the  purpose  of  raising  it  in  his  garden  at  San  Pietro  in 
Vinculis.  By  chaining  a  bear  to  the  ])edestal  of  the  column 
and  by  placing  a  bronze  eagle  on  the  capital,  he  intended  to 
raise  a  monument  of  glory  to  his  family,  whose  coat  of  arms 
included  the  three  symbols  of  the  bear,  the  eagle,  and  the 
column.  Death,  however,  prevented  Giovan  Giorgio  from 
carrying  the  design  into  effect." 

The  garden  remained  totally  or  partially  in  the  possession 
of  tlie  Cesarini  u])  to  1G23,  when  a  priest  from  Calabria, 
Giovanni  Pizzullo,  l)ought  it  for  twelve  thousand  five  hun- 
dred scudi,  and  gave  it  to  the  order  of  the  Minims  of  San 
Francesco  di  Paola,  who  retained  it  until  its  recent  trans- 
formation into  a  technical  institute. 

The  houses  of  the  Massimi,  built  over  the  remains  of  the 


THE   CITY 


43 


X 


I 


fumum 


^ 


II  II 


-^**:i-       '■' r-f 


The  tower  of  the  Cesarini  garden,  now  transformed  into  the  belfry  of  the  church 
of  San  Francesco  di  Paola 

Odeum,  near  the  south  end  of  the  stadium  of  Severus  Alex- 
ander, —  now  the  Piazza  Navona,  —  were  renowned  for  two 
reasons :  for  a  collection  of  antiques  and  for  a  printing-press, 
the  first  ever  seen  in  Rome.  Claude  Bellievre  of  Lyons,  who 
visited  the  palace  in  1512,  mentions  three  special  pieces  :  a 
Julius  Ciesar,  the  beauty  of  which  could  be  felt  more  than 
described  ;  a  Seneca ;  and  a  Brutus  which,  the  Frenchman 
says,  bore  a  striking  resemblance  to  St.  John  the  Baptist ! 


44  T]TE   CITY 

The  liitiotliu'tloii  of  the  piiiitino-ju'ess  in  Rome  and 
Subiac'o  dates  from  the  year  14 (>4  aiul  from  the  pontifieate 
of  Paul  II,  when  tliree  api)rentices  from  the  school  of  Faust 
and  !Seh(')ffer  of  Mayence  came  over  the  Alps,  well  equi2)i)ed 
with  tvjies  and  hand-presses.  It  seems  as  if  the  discovery  of 
so  many  classic  texts  and  the  institution  of  a  public  library 
in  the  Vatican,  made  in  the  time  of  Nicholas  V,  had  l)rouglit 
as  a  necessary  consequence  the  invention  of  movable  types 
and  the  process  of  printin<^\  The  new  and  <^'enial  ideas  of 
the  Humanists  were  to  be  no  more  the  })rivilet>e  of  the  few. 
Learning"  was  to  be  guarded  no  more  within  the  precincts  of 
monasteries.  The  bright  sunshine  of  the  Renaissance  con- 
quered mediieval  darkness  as  soon  as  it  was  found  possible 
to  transfer  luunan  thought  to  paper. 

The  circulation  of  books  had  been  a  hard  and  expensive 
undertaking"  up  to  the  time  of  Paul  II  and  Sixtus  lY.  The 
exploit  of  Vesjtasiano,  in  transcribing  two  hundred  volumes 
for  Duke  Cosimo  of  Tuscany  in  the  short  period  of  twenty- 
two  months,  and  with  the  help  of  only  forty-iive  amanuenses, 
was  considered  little  short  of  miraculous.  Besides,  manu- 
script l)ooks  had  reached  ])r()liibitory  j)rices  :  forty  florins 
were  given  for  a  Bible,  twenty-five  for  the  ejnstles  of  Cicero. 
Poggio  Braceiolini  had  asked  and  obtained  from  Lionello 
d'  Este  one  hundred  florins  for  the  epistles  of  St.  Jerome,  and 
one  hundred  and  twenty  ducats  for  a  Livy  sold  to  the  poet 
Beccadelli.    Both  works  had   been  copied  by  his  own  hand. 

The  first  experiences  in  Rome  of  the  three  apprentices 
from  Mayence,  Conrad  Schweinheim,  Arnold  Pannartz,  and 
Ulrich  Halin,  were  not  successful.  The  activity  which  had 
prevailed  under  Pope  Nicholas  in  the  field  of  letters  seemed 
to  have  come  to  a  standstill  just  at  that  period  ;  and  finding 
themselves  without  money  or  shelter,  they  retired  to  Subiaco, 
that  ancient  seat  of  learning,  many  of  whose  inmates  were 


THE   CITY  45 

of  German  extraction.  In  this  peaceful  retreat  Conrad  and 
Arnold  printed  the  Donatus  and  the  Lactantius  (two  hun- 
dred and  seventy  live  copies  of  each)  in  1465,  Cicero's  '*  De 
Oratore  "  in  1466,  and  St.  Augustine's  "  De  Civitate  Dei" 
in  1467.  These  incunabula,  representing  the  very  infancy 
of  the  printer's  art,  are  still  to  be  seen  in  the  library  of  San 
Benedetto  at  Subiaco. 

Ulrich  Hahn,  in  the  mean  time,  had  been  called  to  Rome 
by  Torquemada  to  print  the  "Meditations."  His  success 
raised  fresh  hopes  in  the  other  two,  and  by  the  end  of  1467 
we  find  them  installed  in  the  house  of  Piero  Massimi,  from 
which  is  dated  the  first  edition  of  the  epistles  of  Cicero.^ 
They  had  secured  the  collaboration  of  Giannandrea  de 
Bussis,  chief  librarian  of  the  Vatican,  as  a  reviser  of  proofs  ; 
yet  they  do  not  seem  to  have  prospered  in  business,  and  dis- 
appear altogether  from  the  scene  in  1476.  Hahn  had  a 
better  fate,  owing  perhajjs  to  the  clever  use  he  made  of  wood- 
cuts to  embellish  his  books,  and  also  because  of  the  help 
he  received  from  Giovanni  Antonio  Campano,  bishop  of 
Teramo,  one  of  the  leading  Humanists  of  the  day,  and  a 
member  of  Pomponio  Leto's  Academy. 

The  art  of  printing  declined  very  much  in  the  last  quarter 
of  the  fifteenth  century,  owdng  to  political  troubles  and  to 
the  fierce  rule  of  the  Borgias,  which  gave  literary  enterprises 
little  or  no  opportunity  to  prosper.  Aldo  Manuzio  not  only 
revived  the  art  under  Julius  II  and  Leo  X  (1494-1515),  but 
brought  it  to  perfection.  His  editions  of  the  Greek  and  Latin 
classics  show  what  grace  and  elegance  and  artistic  touch  the 
Italian  spirit  of  the  Renaissance  could  impart  to  the  useful 
but  rough  productions  of  the  Teutonic  race. 

At  the  time  the  heroes  of  my  book  were  living  in  Rome, 
the  old  printing-office  in  the  house  of  the  Massimi  had  been 

1  In  domo  Petri  de  Maximo,  M.CCCC.LXVii. 


4<j  Till-:    CITY 

let  to  anotlier  master  of  tlie  craft,  Antonio  Blado  from  Asola, 
a  |)ii|)il  and  ex-partner  of  Aldo.  The  iirst  l)ook  issued  from 
his  J  tress,  Valeriano's ''Comments  on  Virgil,"  bears  the  date  of 
.Iniir.  \')'l  I .  Twi'Mt  v-six  years  later  we  find  Blado  established 
in  his  own  i)remises  in  the  Campo  de' Fiori.  His  greatest 
title  to  fame  is  the  publication  of  Machiavelli's  three  standard 
works,  the  "  Discorsi,"  the  "'Principe,"  and  the  "Historic," 
made  undei-  the  patronage  of  Monsignor  Giovanni  Gaddi,  the 
owner  of  the  original  manuscripts.  Tiiis  publication  gave 
origin  to  an  act  of  piracv  that  can  hardly  find  its  match  in 
more  recent  times.  It  seems  that  on  the  strength  of  a  brief  of 
privilege  granted  to  him  by  Clement  VH  on  August  ^3, 1521, 
Blado,  feeling  secure  against  competition,  must  have  relaxed 
his  vigilance.  The  negligence  gave  an  opportunity  to  his 
Florentine  rival,  Bernardo  Giunta,  for  bribing  one  of  the 
apprentices  so  as  to  obtain  possession  of  the  printed  sheets 
as  fast  as  they  came  out  of  the  press.  This  explains  the  fact 
that  Bernardo  Giunta  (who  had  never  seen  the  original  man- 
uscript) was  able  to  issue  the  "  Discorsi  "  within  twenty- 
three  days,  and  the  "  Historic  "  within  twenty-four  hours, 
after  Blado's  ])ublication. 

The  Roman  edition  has  become  so  rare,  especially  in 
the  case  of  the  "  Principe,"  that  many  bibliographers  have 
doul)ted  its  existence.  Yet  it  is  not  difficult  to  explain  the 
fact.  The  Curia  and  the  Inquisition  must  have  soon  real- 
ized what  a  mistake  they  had  made  in  allowing  Machiavelli's 
dangerous  treatise  to  appear  in  Rome  under  the  personal 
auspices  of  Pope  Clement  VII  and  of  Cardinal  Giovanni 
Gaddi ;  all  the  available  copies  were  seized  and  destroyed, 
and  we  may  consider  it  almost  a  miracle  that  a  priceless 
few  have  come  down  to  us  to  give  evidence  of  an  act  of 
piracy,  of  which  Bernardo  Giunta  could  not  have  been  other- 
wise convicted. 


THE    CITY 


47 


The  house  of  the  Massimi,  having  been  wrecked  in  the 
sack  of  1527,  and  its  owner,  GiuUo,  having-  been  murdered 
by  the  Lansquenets,  was  soon  after  rebuilt  in  the  form  shown 


The  court  of  the  Massimi  palace,  rebuilt  in  1532-30  by  Baldassare  Peruzzi 

by  the  accomjjanying  ilkistration,  from  the  designs  of  Bal- 
dassare Peruzzi. 

Besides  those  described  in  the  preceding  pages,  scanty 
vestiges  of  mediaeval  Rome  are  left  standing.  If  we  except 
a  few  churches  which  by  accident  have  been  spared  the 
heinous  transformations  of  the  seventeenth  century,  a  few 
baronial  towers  not  yet  whitewashed  or  turned  into  tene- 


48  77/A'    CITY 

ineiits,  and  a  few  private  liouses  which  have  not  yet  fallen 
into  the  hands  of  specnlators,  Rome  oilers  no  connecting 
hnk  hetween  tlie  classic  and  the  modern  ai;'e.  Tivoli,  Cor- 
neto,  X'iterbo,  Aiiai;iii,  <  )rviet(),  are  far  riclicr  tlian  liomc  in 
iiioininu'uts  dating"  from  the  i^lorious  period  of  mnnicipal 
lil)erties,  when  each  town  felt  impelled  to  raise  a  church 
'•  grand,  beautiful,  magnificent,  whose  just  proportions  in 
heiglit,  breadth,  and  length  should  so  harmonize  with  the 
details  of  the  decoration  as  to  make  it  decorous  and  solemn 
and  worthy  of  the  worship  of  Christ  in  hymns  and  canti- 
cles," like  the  duomo  of  Siena,  and  belfries  which  should 
reach  *'  even  to  the  stars,"  like  that  of  Spoleto.  Why  is  it 
that  no  such  structures  were  erected  in  Rome?  The  usual 
reason  given  for  this  anomaly  is  that  the  soil  was  so  rich  in 
columns,  capitals,  entablatures,  and  architectural  marbles  in 
general,  ready  for  use,  that  the  builders  had  no  reason  to 
exert  their  artistic  ingenuity  ;  they  could  not  help  producing 
a  patchwork  of  antique  ready-made  materials  which  had  no 
unity,  no  harmony,  no  symmetry  in  its  various  parts.  The 
explanation  is  a  poor  one.  Let  us  consider  the  parallel  case 
of  the  duomo  of  Orvieto,  which  is  likewise  built  of  marbles 
found  or  purchased  in  Rome  and  in  the  Campagna,  the  first 
barge-loads  having  been  ship})ed  from  the  quay  of  Ripetta 
to  their  destination  in  June,  1316.  For  the  space  of  twenty 
years  the  "  maestri  dell'  opera  del  Duomo  "  ransacked  the 
ruins  of  Ostia,  Porto,  Veil,  of  Domitian's  villa  at  Castel 
Gandolfo,  of  the  portico  of  Octavia,  etc. ;  and  yet  with  these 
spoils  taken  at  random  they  raised  an  original  and  perfectly 
harmonious  monument,  the  beauty  of  which  will  forever 
charm  the  student  of  art.  The  same  thing  can  be  said  con- 
cerning the  duomo  of  Pisa,  built  with  marbles  from  Ostia 
and  Porto.  How  was  it,  then,  that  Rome  alone  did  not  or 
could  not  follow  the   artistic   movement   of  the  age,  and 


THE   CITY  49 

possesses  no  structure  which  can  stand  comparison  with  the 
cathedrals,  cemeteries,  city  halls,  and  merchant  halls  of  the 
other  Italian  mediaeval  cities  ?  How  was  it,  moreover,  that 
the  only  artistic  school  Rome  can  boast  of,  the  so-called 
Cosmatesque,^  which  flourished  from  the  beginning  of  the 
twelfth  to  the  end  of  the  fourteenth  century,  has  shone  only 
in  minor  works,  in  Avorks  of  minute  details,  such  as  cano- 
pies, episcopal  chairs,  canons'  stalls,  candelabras,  tombs, 
tessellated  pavements,  and  small  cloisters?  The  reason  is 
evident.  At  the  time  of  the  Renaissance,  Rome  did  not 
enjoy  the  freedom  of  municipal  life ;  the  sacred  fire  of  lib- 
erty did  not  stir  her  citizens  to  accomplish  great  deeds  ;  she 
did  not  feel  the  responsibilities  and  the  ambitions  of  self- 
government.  Whatever  was  accomplished  in  the  field  of 
art  was  due  to  individual  initiative  and  to  private  resources  ; 
in  other  words,  it  was  due  to  the  initiative  and  to  the  re- 
sources of  religious  institutions,  under  which  name  I  include 
a  few  popes,  a  few  cardinals,  and  a  few  monastic  orders. 

I  have  just  said  that  no  vestiges  are  left  of  mediaeval  Rome 
save  a  few  churches,  towers,  and  private  dwellings.  The 
church  of  San  Saba  is  perhaps  the  best  representative  of 
the  first  class  of  structures,  the  Torre  delle  Milizie  of  the 
second,  the  Casa  degli  Anguillara  of  the  third. 

The  church  of  San  Saba  was  built  by  representatives  of 
the  great  monastic  institution  of  Mar-Saba  in  Palestine,  who 
had  sought  refuge  in  Rome  after  the  plunder  of  the  mother- 
house  by  the  Persians  in  the  seventh  century.  These  Eastern 
refugees,  wandering  through  the  deserted  lanes  of  the  smaller 
Aventine,  found  shelter  in  the  cells  of  the  Statio  cohortis  II 
Vigilum,  or  the  barracks  of  the  second  battalion  of  firemen, 

^  The  proper  designation  is  "  Seuola  dei  Marmorarii  Romani."  It  com- 
prises four  branches  :  of  the  "  Sons  of  Paul,"  of  Lawrence  or  Cosmas,  of  the 
Vassallecti,  and  of  Rauuccio  Romano. 


^^0  THE    CITY 

\vliicli  were  adapted  for  the  use  of  the  eoniinunity  under 
the  name  of  Monasteriuni  Cellae  Novae.  Adjoiniiio-  tlie 
monasterv,  and  perha})s  included  within  its  area,  were  the 
remains  of  the  house  of  Silvia,  the  mother  of  Gregory 
the  Gnat,  where  the  ])i()us  lady  used  to  prepare  the  simple 
meal — a  disii  of  vegetables  -which  was  daily  sent  over  to  the 
monastery  of  Sant'  Andrea  ad  Clivum  Scauri,  the  residence 
of  her  son.  Here  the  monks  built  a  charmino"  little  basilica, 
the  pavement  of  which  lies  five  feet  below  that  of  the  present 
church.  The  basilica  had  its  walls  covered  with  frescoes,  in 
much  better  style  than  those  of  Santa  Maria  Antiqua  in  the 
Forum,  but  very  little  of  them  is  left  to  tell  the  tale.  The 
head  of  the  Redeemer,  once  painted  in  the  centre  of  the 
apse,  has  been  recovered  intact  among  the  blocks  of  masonry 
which  fell  on  the  floor  when  the  basilica  was  done  away  with 
in  the  year  1205  to  make  room  for  the  upper  church.  The 
best  preserved  panel  represents  the  story  of  the  Paralytic. 
It  is  now  exhibited  in  the  left  aisle  under  a  olass  case. 
Another  (left  in  the  original  place  below)  contains  a  riddle, 
mostly  composed  of  initials,  and  ending  with  the  sentence, 
"Clever  you  are  if  you  can  make  me  out." 

The  Eastern  brotherhood  remained  in  possession  of  the 
Aventine  monastery  up  to  1044,  when  Lucius  11  substituted, 
in  their  place  the  monks  of  Chmy.  About  two  centuries 
later  (1205)  the  Abbot  John,  seeing  that  the  church  and 
monastery  had  become  inadequate  for  the  needs  of  the  ever 
increasing  congregation,  commissioned  the  leading  artist 
of  the  day.  Master  Jacobus,  son  of  Lawrence  and  father  of 
Cosmas  I,  to  reconstruct  both  buildint»s  on  a  laroer  scale 
and  at  a  higher  level.  Master  Jacobus  began  his  task  by 
demolishing  with  a  certain  amount  of  care  the  upper  walls 
of  the  basilica,  which  stood  in  his  way,  and  spread  the 
rubbish  on  the  spot,  to  the  height  of  five  feet  above  the  old 


THE   CITY  51 

pavement ;  then  lie  laid  hands  on  the  snrronnding  rnins  ot" 
the  greater  and  lesser  Aventine  in  search  of  materials  for 
his  work.  From  the  walls  of  Servius  Tullins  he  gathered 
tnfa  blocks,  upon  which  now  rest  the  columns  of  the  nave; 
from  the  border  of  the  Via  Ostiensis,  the  cornice  and  the 
frieze  of  a  temple  or  a  mausoleum,  beautifully  carved  in 
volutes  and  festoons ;  and  from  other  places,  unknown  to 
us,  the  most  varied  collection  of  columns,  capitals,  bases, 
slabs,  panels,  lintels,  and  cornices.  At  this  juncture  Master 
Jacobus  found  himself  in  exactly  the  same  condition  in 
which  Orcag'na,  Ronald,  and  Busketus  found  themselves 
at  Orvieto  and  Pisa,  when  the  supply  of  ancient  marbles 
had  reached  them  from  Rome  and  from  Ostia.  We  know 
to  what  magnificent  use  Orcagna,  Ronald,  and  Busketus 
did  put  the  raw  material,  and  how  they  were  able  to  trans- 
form that  heterogeneous  mass  of  marble  into  architectural 
masterpieces,  as  harmonious  in  their  general  outline  as  they 
are  perfect  in  details.  Jacobus,  son  of  Lawrence,  on  the 
other  hand,  satisfied  himself  and  his  clients  with  raising  a 
commonplace  replica  of  a  type  which  had  been  known  for 
centuries,  the  so-called  ''basilical,"  consisting  of  an  oblong 
hall  divided  into  nave  and  aisles  by  two  rows  of  columns, 
with  a  door  at  one  end  and  an  apse  at  the  other.  No  origi- 
nality of  conception,  no  novelty  in  outline  or  in  details,  no 
touch  of  individuality.  The  architect's  object  was  not  to 
match  columns,  capitals,  bases,  and  cornices,  but  to  conceal 
the  patchwork  as  well  as  he  could  under  the  circumstances, 
by  coupling  a  shorter  column  with  a  higher  base,  or  by  giv- 
ing to  a  longer  one  an  Ionic  capital  instead  of  a  Corinthian. 
As  regards  the  respect  or  admiration  for  antiques  with 
which  these  Roman  "maestri  Marmorarii"  are  credited,  we 
fijid  in  this  church  of  San  Saba  an  evident  denial  of  the 
fact.     There  was  in   its  neighborhood   a   temple  of  great 


5Z  THE   CITY 

beauty,  of  the  Doric  oider,  the  marbles  of  whicli,  used  in 
many  niediu'val  buil(liii<>s  of  the  Aventiiie,  can  easily  be 
identified  by  means  of  their  rich  or  rather  excessive  carv- 
ings, characteristic  of  the  ai>e  of  the  Antonines. 

One  of  the  capitals  of  this  tem})le  was  transformed  at  a 


A  capital  from  a  temple  on  the  Aventine,  transformed  in 
the  middle  ages  into  the  baptismal  font  of  the  church  of 
Santa  Prisca 


remote  age  into  a  baptismal  font  for  the  church  of  Santa 
Prisca,  and  it  is  still  shown  to  visitors  as  the  "Baptismum 
Sancti  Petri,"   used  by  the  prince  of  the  Apostles  himself 


THE   CITY 


53 


while  a  guest  in  the  house  of  Aquila  and  Prisca.  Another, 
no  less  perfect  in  its  carvings,  was  found  by  Jacobus,  son  of 
Lawrence,  amidst  the  materials  collected  for  the  rebuilding 
of  San  Saba.  He  simply  threw  it  as  common  stone  into  one 
of  the  foundation  trenches,  in  the  manner  shown  by  the 
following  illustration. 

The  Torre  delle  Milizie,  which  I  have  named  above  as  the 
best  existing  specimen  of  a  mediaeval  baronial  tower,  was 
probably  built  by  Pope 
Gregory  IX,  of  the  Conti 
family,  between  1227  and 
1241,  on  the  remains  of 
Trajan's  buildings,  known 
in  the  middle  ages  by  the 
name  of  Balnea  Pauli 
(Magnanapoli).  Boniface 
VIII  bouo-lit  it  from  the 
sons  of  Pietro  d'  Alessio, 
in  1294,  and  restored  it  to 
its  full  height  after  it  had 

been  mutilated  by  Brancaleone  Andalo  in  1257.  Popular 
tradition,  ignoring  all  these  particulars,  connects  it  with  the 
burning  of  Rome  at  the  time  of  Nero,  and  points  it  out  to 
the  unsuspecting  tourist  as  the  point  of  vantage  from  which 
the  wicked  emperor  witnessed  the  calamity. 

It  is  perhaps  on  account  of  this  tradition  that  the  tower 
obtains  a  place  of  honor  in  all  the  mediaeval  views  of  the 
city,  such  as  the  one  by  Nicola  Polani  (1459),  published  by 
Geffroy  in  1892  ;  a  second  by  Taddeo  di  Bartolo  (1413), 
published  by  Stevenson  in  1881 ;  a  third  by  Ghirlandajo  in 
the  "  Rape  of  the  Sabines,"  etc.  I  have  selected  for  my  own 
illustration  a  hitherto  unpublished  view  by  Paolo  Uccello, 
forming  part  of  a  panorama  of  Rome  in  the  background  of 


Another   capital,    thrown  into  a   foundation 
trench  of  the  church  of  San  Saba 


54  THE   CITY 

a  l>attl(.'-|)ioL'e  now  in  the  Galleiia  lieale  of  Tniin.  The 'i'orre 
delle  Milizie,  three  stories  liigh,  is  coupled  as  usual  with  other 
eharactcnstic  laiKlniarksol'  tlu'city,theColiseuin,  the  Aracceli, 
St.  .lohn  the  Lateran,  etc.  Comparing  Uecello's  (lesion  with 
the  present  state  of  the  tower,  we  see  that  the  third  and 
highest  section  is  missing.  W  hen  and  hy  whom  and  for  what 
purpose  the  nuitilation  was  done  still  remains  a  mystery. 
No  clue  is  to  he  found  in  Valesio's  dissertation  '"De  Turri 
Comitum,"  which  deals  exhaustively  with  this  suhject/  nor  in 
Cancellieri's  account  of  Roman  towers  inserted  in  his  vol- 
ume "  iSulle  Campane  di  Cam2)idoglio."  It  may  have  been 
destroyed  by  Giacomo  Arlotto  de'  Stefaneschi  in  his  attempt 
to  pacify  the  city  in  K31.*),  or  it  may  have  fallen,  like  the 
upper  part  of  the  Torre  de  Conti,  in  the  great  earthquake 
of  January  25,  1348. 

The  house  of  the  Anguillara  in  the  Trastevere,  opening 
on  the  Via  della  Lungaretta  and  facing  the  church  of  San 
Crisogono,  has  been  described  by  Prince  Camillo  Massimo, 
in  a  memoir  published  in  1847  under  the  title  "  Cenni  storici 
sulla  torre  degli  Anguillara." 

The  Anguillara  branch  of  the  Orsini  family  was  already 
in  possession  of  power  and  wealth  at  the  time  of  the  death 
of  St.  Francis  of  Assisi  (122.")).  A  rude  painting  in  the 
church  of  San  Francesco  Ti  Ripa,  now  lost  or  whitewashed, 
represented  Count  Pandolfo,  the  head  of  the  faniilv,  in  the 
garb  of  a  Tertiary  monk,  offering  to  the  saint  the  model  of 
this  chuich  and  of  the  adjoining  convent,  both  of  which 
he  had  I'ebuilt  at  his  own  cost.  In  the  contests  which  fol- 
lowed the  advent  of  the  Emperor  Henry  VII  in  1312,  the 
tower  formed  a  rallying  point  for  the  Orsini  faction,  while 
the  Colon na  had  selected  the  Torre  delle  Milizie  for  their 
headquarters.    None  of  the  contending  parties  won  the  con- 

'   Publislied  by  Calogerk,  Opuscoli,  vol.  xxviii,  p.  45. 


A   BATTLE    NEAR    THE    GATI 

With  a  view  of  the  leading  monuments  of  i 

the  Coliseum, 


^OME,    BY    PAOLO    UCCELLO 

:luding  the  Torre  dalle  Milizie,  the  Aracoeli, 
permission. 


i 


THE   CITY  55 

test,  because,  while  the  Orsiiii  succeeded  in  preventing'  the 
emperor  from  being  crowned  in  St.  Peter's,  the  Colonna 
opened  to  him  the  way  to  St.  John  the  Lateran,  where  the 
ceremony  of  the  coronation  took  place  on  June  29  of  the 
same  year. 

Count  Pandolfo's  grandson,  Everso  the  Second,  is  de- 
scribed by  his  contemporaries,  especially  by  Cardinal  Gia- 
como  Ammanati,  the  chronicler  of  the  reign  of  Paul  II, 
as  a  perfect  "  flagellum  Dei,"  as  the  worst  and  wickedest 
amonof  the  barons  of  his  ao-e.  He  had  selected  as  the 
scene  of  his  exploits  the  highroad  from  Viterbo  to  Rome, 
waylaying  pilgrims  and  travellers,  not  so  much  for  the 
sake  of  a  ransom  as  for  the  pleasure  of  wrenching  the 
wives  from  the  arms  of  their  husbands.  In  contempt  of 
God  and  his  saints  Everso  compelled  his  vassals  to  work 
on  Sundays  and  feast  days,  and  when  after  the  extirpation 
of  his  race  the  gates  of  the  strongholds  of  Cere,  Cervetri, 
Caprarola,  Ronciglione,  Monticelli,  etc.,  %vere  thrown  open, 
the  dungeons  were  found  crowded  with  wretches  who  had 
been  starving  in  chains  and  darkness  for  a  number  of  years. 
It  is  also  said  that  in  the  cellars  of  the  castle  of  Calcata 
the  tools  for  coining  false  money  were  discovered,  with  a 
number  of  spurious  pieces  of  Nicholas  V,  Calixtus  III,  and 
Pius  II;  yet  this  same  man  spent  a  large  amount  of  money 
in  rebuilding  the  hospital  of  Sancta  Sanctorum,  endowing 
it  with  a  sum  of  eight  hundred  gold  ducats,  in  memory  of 
which  event  two  marble  reliefs  were  placed  in  the  front  wall 
of  the  hospital,  with  the  coat  of  arms  of  the  Anguillara 
family  in  the  middle,  and  the  name  eversvs  secvndvs  on 
either  side  of  it.  This  coat  of  arms,  of  which  I  give  a 
reproduction,  is  beautifully  modelled  in  white  stucco  above 
the  fireplace  in  the  main  hall  of  the  house  in  the  Traste- 
vere.  Everso's  career  of  violence  and  crime  came  to  an  end 


5(3  Till-:  CITY 

on  Septemhei-  *?,  14()4,  and  lie  was  ])uried  in  Santa  Maria 
Man<;"ior('.  at  the  foot  of  tlie  chapel  of  Nostra  Donna,  where 
his  fatlier.  Cloiint  Dolce,  had  already  been  laid  to  rest.  His 
g-rave  was  covered  with  a  slah,  the  bas-relief  on  which  repre- 
sented liiiu  clad  ni  armor,  with  the  senatorial  to(|ne  instead 
of  a  lielniet.  This  interestin<»"  nioniinient  was  removed  and 
destroved  at  the  time  of  Benedict  XIV,  and  we  shonld 
probably  have  been  ignorant  of  its  very  existence  had  not 
a  learned  man  of  the  ag-e,  Francesco  Guakli  da  Rimini, 
coi)ied  the  inscription  and  made  a  sketch  of  the  tomb. 

The  honse  of  the  Anoiiillara  continned  in  oreat  favor  with 
the  Trastevere  peo})le  until  lately,  on  account  of  the  extraor- 
dinary representation  of  the  presepio  or  creche  of  our  Lord, 
which  the  last  o^vner  of  the  tower.  Signor  Giuseppe  Forti, 
used  to  prepare  on  the  top  of  it  durinii;-  the  Advent  weeks. 
I  mvself  remember  this  trnlv  remarkable  siuht,  the  jrrotto 
of  Bethlehem  being"  constructed  so  cleverly  as  to  g'ive  throuj^h 
its  various  openings  ex(|uisite  vistas  over  Tivoli,  Frascati, 
Albano,  Monte  Mario,  and  other  points  of  interest  of  the 
Roman  Campagna. 


Ttie  coat  of  arms  of  Count 
Everso  degli  Angniillara 


CHAPTER   II 

LIFE    IN    THE    CITY 

In  the  fifth  year  of  his  rule  Pope  Leo  X  ordered  a  census 
to  be  taken  of  the  inhabitants  of  Rome,  and  entrusted 
the  task  to  the  rectors  of  the  one  hundred  and  thirty-one 
parishes  into  which  the  city  was  ecclesiastically  divided. 
The  census  was  taken  some  time  between  the  months  of 
July,  1517,  and  November  of  the  following  year,  as  proved 
by  two  entries,  —  one  relating  to  Lorenzo  Campeggi,  who 
was  promoted  to  the  cardinalship  on  July  1,  1517  ;  the 
other  to  Madonna  Vannozza,  mother  of  Caesar  Boroia,  who 
is  mentioned  as  the  living  owner  of  a  house  in  the  parish 
of  Santo  Stefano  in  Piscinula,  and  who  died  an  octoo^enarian 
on  the  26th  day  of  November,  1518. 

The  results  of  the  census  were  registered  in  a  deed,  the 
original  of  which  has  been  discovered  by  Mariano  Armellini 
in  codex  M.  193  (125)  of  the  Vatican  archives;  but,  unfor- 
tunately, of  the  one  hundred  and  fifty-six  sheets  that  com- 
posed it,  eighty-eight  have  been  torn  to  pieces ;  yet,  in  spite 
of  its  fragmentary  state,  the  document  reveals  some  impor- 
tant facts.  First,  that  the  census  was  taken  from  a  purely 
fiscal  point  of  view,  and  therefore  it  does  not  indicate  how 
many  persons  dwelt  in  a  single  house,  or  palace,  or  monas- 
tery, but  only  mentions  the  name,  mother  country,  profes- 
sion, and  social  condition  of  the  owner  of  the  property,  and 
of  the  head  of  the  family.  Secondly,  that  the  people  in 
those  days,  as  at  present,  objected  to  being  registered  in  the 
government's  books,  and  refused  to  answer  the  questions  of 


58  LIFE    IN    Till':    CTTY 

the  ollic'iiil  messengers.  Tims,  nientioii  is  nuide  in  the  Rione 
(li  I'onte  of  a  *■' (U)nna  siiperbia  (sic),"  a  scornful  woniau 
who  declines  to  j;ive  the  name  of  the  landowner ;  and  in  the 
Kione  di  ( 'aniponiarzio  of  a  "  ^iardino  d'  Ascanio/'  which, 
the  statistician  savs,  "  no  si  sa  de  chi  sia  ne  chi  ve  liahita." 
Tliirdly,  that  the  parish  priests  of  the  time  of  Leo  X  were 
not  edncated  persons,  nor  skilled  in  the  mysteries  of  spell- 
ing" their  own  vernacnlar.  The  w^ord  "bottega"  (shop),  for 
instance,  is  wiitten  in  Hve  varions  ways  and  all  misspelled. 
Fonrthlv,  that  the  "  Romani  di  Roma,"  the  children  of  the 
soil,  formed  hnt  a  minority  of  the  cosmopolitan  popnla- 
tion.  Lastly,  that  the  "cortigiane"  ontninnbered  the  honest 
women.'  These  last  tw^o  points,  concerning  the  prevalence 
of  strangers  and  courtesans  in  Rome,  need  a  few  words  of 
ex})lanati()n. 

After  Martin  V  in  1420  and  Eugenius  IV  in  I'l-iii  had 
put  an  end  to  the  wanderings  of  the  heads  of  the  Church, 
and  given  the  papal  government  a  firm  and  permanent  basis 
in  Rome,  strangers  from  every  province  of  Italy  and  from 
every  state  beyond  the  Alps,  and  beyond  the  seas,  flocked  to 
the  citv  of  the  seven  hills  in  quest  of  occupation,  of  pleasure, 
of  fortune,  of  adventure,  and  of  a  career  in  one  of  the  thou- 
sand branches  of  the  pontifical  administration.  This  cosmo- 
politan assembly  was  subject  to  periodical  changes  in  the 
constitution  of  its  elements,  according  to  the  chance  of  the 
day.  The  Venetians  ]>revailed  at  the  time  of  Eugenius  IV 
and  Paul  II;  the  Ligurians  under  Sixtus  IV,  Innocent  VIII, 
and  Julius  II  ;  the  Tuscans  under  the  Medici  popes;  the 
Spaniards  under  Calixtus  III  and  Alexander  VI ;  the 
northerners  under  Adrian  VI.  "  We  cannot  deny,"  wTote 
Marcello  All)erini  on  the  eve  of  the  sack  of  1527,  "  that 
we  Romans  form  but  a  minority  in  this  international  ren- 

'  That  is,  single  women  and  widows. 


LIFE  IN   THE   CITY  59 

dezvous  of  the  world."  Historians  had  ah-eady  gathered  the 
evidence  of  this  fact  from  the  perusal  of  the  twenty-five 
thousand  funereal  inscriptions  of  Roman  churches  collected 
by  Pier  Luigi  Galletti  and  Vincenzo  Forcella/  in  which 
British,  French,  Spanish,  Lnsitanian,  and  German  names 
occur  in  such  numbers  that  Galletti  considered  it  expe- 
dient to  devote  a  volume  to  each  nationality.  The  same  fact 
is  so  conspicuous  in  the  census  of  Leo  X,  published  by 
Armellini,  that  we  cannot  help  asking  ourselves  the  ques- 
tion. Where  were  then,  where  are  now,  the  true  Romani  di 
Roma  ?  Alas !  even  the  popular  quarter  of  the  Trastevere, 
the  alleged  surviving  relic  of  the  Populus  Romanus  Quiri- 
tium,  unsoiled  and  unspoiled  by  contact  with  foreign  invad- 
ers, makes  no  exception  to  the  rule.  Documentary  evidence 
compels  us  to  believe  that  our  Trasteverini  owe  their  traits 
of  honesty,  bravery,  passion,  vindictiveness,  and  readiness 
to  settle  their  quarrels  man  to  man,  not  to  their  alleged 
descent  from  the  classic  "  plebs,"  but  to  the  Corsican  blood 
which  permeates  their  veins.  The  parishes  of  San  Barto- 
lomeo  air  Isola  and  San  Crisogono  numbered  so  many  Cor- 
sican residents  that  for  some  time  the  bodva'uard  of  the 
Pope  could  be  drafted  exclusively  from  this  troublesome 
colony.  The  other  foreign  colonies  clustered  around  their 
national  churches,  colleges,  or  hospices,  or  in  the  district  in 
which  their  own  individual  trade  or  industry  found  better 
chances  of  success.  The  French  excelled  as  perfumers, 
glovemakers,  confectioners,  makers  of  musical  instruments 
and  hunting  weapons ;  the  Teutons  as  bakers  ;  the  Span- 
iards as  booksellers ;  the  Lombards  as  builders  and  archi- 
tects ;  the  Dalmatians  as  boat-builders  and  navigators ;  while 
the  Ligurians  and  the  Florentines  reigned  supreme  in  the 

'  Pier  Luigi  Galletti,  Codices  Vaticani,  7904-7921;  Vincenzo  Forcella,  Iscri- 
zioni  delle  chiese  e  d'  altri  edificii  di  Roma,  1869. 


00  LIFE  IX  THE   CITY 

c'oiitrada  de'  Kanclii  as  iiioiicv  kings  and  collectors  of 
taxes. 

A  walk  tlirougli  the  old  (iiiarters  of  Parione,  Regola,  and 
Polite  cannot  tail  to  Kiing  l)ack  to  our  memory  these  inter- 
esting- i)artitulars  of  city  life  at  the  time  of  Leo  X.  The 
names  of  the  streets  are  the  same,  mostly  connected  witli 
special  branches  of  industry,  such  as  the  Vie  de'  Baullari, 
Capj»ellari,  Cartari,  Chiavari,  Calzettari,  Pianellari,  Pet- 
tinari,  etc.,  altliDugh  tlieir  respective  tradesmen  in  trunks, 
hats,  pa])er,  locks,  underwear,  slip})ers,  toilet  articles,  etc., 
are  now  disjjcrsed  all  over  the  city.  A  few  streets,  however, 
have  not  changed  name  or  occu])ation  since  the  time  the 
census  was  taken.  The  Via  de'  Giubbonari,  for  instance,  is 
still  haunted  by  makers  of  "  giubbe,"  or  mantles  for  the 
peasantry  ;  the  Via  de'  Canestrari  by  dealers  in  wicker-work ; 
the  Via  de'  Coronari  by  dealers  in  chaplets  and  articles  of 
religion  ;  and  the  Via  de'  Staderari  by  makers  of  scales  and 
weights. 

As  soon  as  a  foreign  colony  had  attained  a  certain  amount 
of  wealth  and  consideration,  its  first  thought  was  to  build  a 
national  church  and  a  national  hospice  for  pilgrims;  many  of 
these  institutions  liave  enjoyed  and  still  enjoy  great  celeb- 
rity. I  have  already  described  in  "  New  Tales  "  tliose  founded 
by  the  Anglo-Saxons  in  a.  d.  727,  the  oldest  and  foremost  of 
the  foreign  "  scholae  "  in  the  Vatican  district.  At  the  time 
of  tlie  census,  the  schola  Saxonum,  abolished  by  Innocent 
III  in  1204,  was  re})resented  by  three  descendants:  the 
cluirch  and  hospice  of  San  Tommaso  degli  Inglesi  in  the 
Via  di  Monserrato,  those  of  Sant'  Andrea  degli  Scozzesi  a 
Caj)o  le  case,  and  those  of  the  Ibernesi. 

To  the  same  class  belonsf  the  charitable  institutions  of 
San  Luigi  de'  Francesi,  San  Claudio  de'  Borgognoni  (Bur- 
gundians),   San    Nicola   de'    Lorenesi,  San   Giacomo    degli 


LIFE   IN   THE    CITY 


Gl 


Spagiuioli,  Santo  Stanislao  de'  Polacchi,  Sant'  Antonio  de' 
Portogliesi,  Santo  Stefano  degli  Abissini,  Sant'  Atanasio 
de'  Greci,  San  Girolamo  degli  Illirici,  Santo  Stefano  degli 
Ungari,  Santa  Maria  dell'  Aninia  de'   Teutonici,  Sant'  Ivo 


The  belfry  of  tSanta  Maria  dell'  Aiiima,  the  national  church 
of  the  Teutons 


de'  Brettoni,  and  Santa  Elisabetta  de'  fornari  Tedeschi. 
These  last  two  churches  have  been  destroyed  since  1870, 
one  out  of  sheer  necessity,  the  other  through  greed. 


^2  Lii'i-:  IS  Till':  CITY 

Tlie  flmrc'h  of  Santa  Klisalx'tta,  founded  by  the  "^uild  of 
German  l)akers  at  tlu'  time  of  Innocent  \'lll  (14S7)  on  the 
site  of  the  Hecatostylon  of  Pompey  tlie  Great,'  was  rebuilt  in 
1()1.)  from  the  dcsii;n.s  of  Girolamo  Iiainaldi,  Peter  Scliwei- 
kert  of  Pomerania  beini;-  one  of  the  principal  contributors. 
It  contained  three  altars,  one  of  the  Visitation  with  a  beauti- 
ful paintinj;-  by  Johann  lleinrich  Schenfeld,  and  two  side 
ones  with  altar-pieces  by  Ignatius  Stern.  These  disa})peared 
at  the  time  of  the  French  invasion  of  1793,  and  the  church 
itself  was  levelled  to  the  ground  in  1879,  to  make  room  for 
a  new  street  which  has  never  been  finished.  The  funereal 
tablets  —  the  oldest  of  which  bore  the  name  of  Heinrich 
aus  Wiesbaden  and  the  date  of  1514:  —  Avere  removed,  I 
believe,  to  the  Camposanto  dei  Tedesehi,  near  the  Vatican 
sacristy. 

The  national  churcli  of  the  Britons,  dedicated  to  Saint 
Ives  at  the  time  of  Calixtus  III,  was  demolished  in  1878, 
for  no  other  reason  than  that  the  substitution  of  a  tenement 
house  for  the  venerable  but  unproductive  sanctuary  was  con- 
sidered a  good  investment  by  its  owners.  The  historical 
inscri})tions,  as  well  as  the  three  altar-pieces  by  Carlo  Ma- 
ratta,  Lamberti,  and  Triga,  were  removed  to  San  Luigi  de' 
Francesi.  In  laying  the  foundations  of  the  new  house  it  was 
discovered  that  Saint  Ives's  had  been  preceded  by  an  older 
chapel,  Sant'  Andrea  de'  Marmorarii,  built  on  the  site  of  a 
stonecutter's  shed.  A  large  column  of  oriental  granite  was 
lying  in  an  unfinished  state  on  the  sanded  floor  of  the  shed, 
together  with  other  blocks  of  marble  ready  for  use.  This 
discovery  fits  remarkably  well  with  others  made  in  the  same 

1  A  portico  of  one  Imiidred  columns,  forming  tlie  front  of  the  Ponipeian  gar- 
dens on  the  east  side.  Remains  of  tliis  beautiful  colonnade  have  been  found 
under  the  Palazzo  Caffarclli-Vidoni,  and  under  the  church  of  Sant'  Andrea 
della  Valle.  The  hospital  of  the  German  bakers  faced  the  northern  side  door 
of  Sant'  Andrea. 


LIFE   IN    THE    CITY  63 

neig'hborhood,  showing-  that  the  whole  section  of  the  Cam- 
pus Martins,  north  of  the  Stadium  (Piazza  Navona),  had 
been  set  apart  for  the  importation,  storage,  sale,  and  cutting 
and  carving  of  marbles,  under  the  supervision  of  the  "  Statio 
marmorum,"  or  central  office  for  the  administration  of  crown 
mines  and  quarries,  the  headquarters  of  which  were  found 
and  explored  between  1737  and  1740  on  the  site  of  the 
church  of  Sant'  Apollinare. 

As  regards  the  prevalence  of  women  of  doubtful  morality 
or  of  no  morality  at  all,  at  the  time  the  census  was  taken, 
I  must  refer  the  reader  to  the  delightful  essay  written  by 
Emmanuel  Rodocanachi,  in  1894,  '"  Courtisanes  et  Bouf- 
fons.  Etude  de  Moeurs  Romaines  au  XVP  Siecle  "  (Paris, 
Flammarion,  1894),  from  which  I  have  derived  valuable  in- 
formation about  the  part  played  by  this  class  of  women  in 
the  movement  of  the  Renaissance  from  the  time  of  Innocent 
VIII  to  the  middle  of  the  sixteenth  century.  I  speak,  of 
course,  of  the  upper  and  refined  class,  which  the  documents 
of  the  age  call  "  delle  cortigiane  honeste,"  as  if  this  strange 
coupling  of  terms  was  not  to  be  considered  any  longer  a 
contradiction.  The  lower  class,  called  ''  delle  cortigiane  di 
candela,"  has  not  the  right  to  be  mentioned  in  this  book. 

The  "  cortigiane  honeste  "  were  an  outcome  of  the  literary 
and  social  reform  brought  about  by  the  Humanists,  a  re- 
vival, so  to  speak,  of  the  age  of  Pericles  and  Aspasia.  The 
poets,  historians,  archjeologists,  and  philosophers  of  those 
days  could  not  find  responsive  minds  or  sympathetic  ad- 
visers in  the  ignorant,  superstitious,  ungraceful  housewives ; 
while  the  rivals  of  the  latter,  with  the  wonderful  adaptabil- 
ity of  the  Italian  woman  of  the  Renaissance,  had  identified 
themselves  with  the  "  intellectuals  "  from  the  opening  of 
the  Accademia  Rom  ana  of  Pomponio  Leto.  They  were  no 
longer  the  audacious  and  noisy  set,  the  exploits  of  which 


64  LTFK    TX    T/fK    CITY 

liave  been  cliroiiiclecl  l>y  Poggio,  Pannonio,  and  the  Panor- 
niita,  bnt  aj)[)eaie(l  hetoie  tlie  eoiirt  and  the  public  as  women 
of  nuxk'st  and  graeetul  behavior,  good  conversationalists, 
learned  in  (ireek  and  Latin  literature,  poetesses,  musicians, 
and  charming-  hostesses,  whose  salons  were  opened  to  the 
best  society.  To  this  class  belonged  Tullia  d'  Arauona,  Isa- 
bella  de  Luna,  Lnperia,  la  Saltarella,  ^Lidrema,  Camilla,  and 
Beatrice,  whose  talents  have  been  sung  l)y  the  greatest 
poets,  and  whose  features  have  been  immortalized  by  the 
greatest  artists. 

When  Tullia  d' Aragona  reached  Ferrara,  in  June,  1537, 
the  representative  of  Mantua  to  the  ducal  court  wrote  to 
Isabella  d'  Este  in  the  following  terms  :  "  I  have  to  record 
the  arrival  among  us  of  a  gentle  lady,  so  modest  in  beha- 
vior, so  fascinating  in  manners,  that  we  cannot  help  consid- 
ering her  something  divine;  she  sings  impromptu  all  kinds 
of  airs  and  motets ;  she  keeps  herself  in  touch  with  the 
events  of  the  day,  and  we  cannot  suggest  a  subject  of  dis- 
cussion with  which  she  does  not  appear  conversant.  There 
is  not  one  lady  in  Ferrara,  not  ei'ini  tlie  Drichess  of  Pescara, 
that  can  stand  com[)arison  with  Tullia."  This  coupling 
together  of  the  names  of  Vittoria  Colonna,  Duchess  of 
Pescara,  the  purest  and  noblest  woman  of  the  century,  one 
of  the  heroines  of  this  volume,  with  that  of  Tullia  d'  Ara- 
gona ])roves  two  points,  —  that  virtue  had  become  a  very 
vague  expression  in  the  age  preceding  the  Reformation,  and 
that  if  vice  was  coupled  with  beauty  of  form  and  quick, 
bright  intelligence,  the  Duchess  of  Pescara  herself  and  the 
stern  Michelangelo  were  ready  to  forget  the  one  in  consid- 
eration for  the  others.'    Tullia  appears  over  and  over  again 

*  111  Michelangelo's  Rime  we  find  the  cjiitai)!!  of  a  oortij^iaiia  between  two 
sonnets  addressed  to  Vittoria  Colonna,  and  tliis  lady  has  not  hesitated  to  immor- 
talize in  her  verses  the  name  of  Beatrice  da  Ferrara. 


LIFE   IN   THE   CITY  65 

in  the  diplomatic  coriespondeiice  of  the  day ;  for  instance, 
in  a  letter  written  by  Piero  Vettori  to  Fihppo  Strozzi,  on 
February  14,  1531,  in  which  he  acknowledges  he  is  w^riting 
it  in  the  boudoir  of  the  beautiful  girl  whose  advice  is  so 
often  valuable  to  him.  Vettori  was  not  the  only  foreign 
representative  in  Rome  to  follow  the  fashion  of  the  day ; 
because  any  diplomatist,  anxious  to  gather  information  on 
court  intrigues  or  society  scandals,  or  to  outwit  his  col- 
leagues in  a  special  case,  was  obliged  to  seek  the  help  of 
one  or  more  of  these  Egerias,  whose  salons  thus  turned  —  to 
mutual  advantage  —  into  regular  chancelleries. 

This  is  perhaps  the  reason  why  Tullia,  on  her  visit  to 
Florence  in  1535  was  excused  from  wearing  the  statutory 
yellow  veil,  although  the  reason  given  was  that  such  a  dis- 
tinguished follower  of  the  Muses  and  of  the  divine  Plato 
ought  not  to  be  submitted  to  the  ordinary  police  regulations. 
The  career  of  the  girl,  however,  soon  came  to  a  pitiful  end. 
After  having  received  almost  regal  homage  in  Naples, 
Rome,  Florence,  and  Ferrara,  she  died  in  a  wa-etched  den 
by  the  river,  leaving  the  few  trinkets  saved  from  the  wreck 
to  a  niece  (?)  Celia,  under  the  guardianship  of  a  Messer 
Orazio  Marchiani.  The  trinkets  were  sold  at  auction  :  a 
necklace  of  pearls  with  a  diamond  clasp  found  a  purchaser 
at  forty  scudi ;  another  necklace  of  pearls  with  nine  pen- 
dants was  sold  at  thirty  ;  the  sale  of  the  furniture  brought 
as  a  total  the  sum  of  twelve  scudi  and  a  half.  I  may  re- 
mark in  the  last  place  that  Tullia  owed  her  extraordinary 
success  to  the  charm  of  her  manners  more  than  to  personal 
attractions.  Her  face  was  irregular,  but  her  eyes  were  spar- 
klino;  and  her  hair  of  the  most  brilliant  g-olden  hue.  I  won- 
der,  however,  whether  this  last  was  a  gift  of  nature  or  the 
result  of  one  of  those  manipulations  for  which  the  Venetian 
chemists  were  famous.    Tullia  must  also  have  been  a  lover 


m 


IJFI-:    /.V    Till'.    CITY 


ol  luusic,  cH)iisi(l(.'iiiii;'  that,  aiiioiii;-  t he  records  of  happier 
clays  to  which  she  had  clung'  in  the  days  of  distress,  we  find 
a  liar[)sicli()i(l  with  its  stool,  an  old  broken  lute  with  its  ease, 
and  several  i)0()ks  of  music.' 

'riiaidcs  to  the  general  [)erversion  of  morals  which  char- 
acterizes the  Humanistic  j)eriod, the'"cortioiane  honeste  "had 
gained  an  eipial  footing  with  ladies  of  rank  and  virtue,  and 
they  could  he  seen  sharing  the  same  seats  and  receiving 
the  same  welcome  in  churches,  in  public  gatherings,  and  in 


The  church  wliere  Iniperia  was  buried.     A  snow  effect. 

the  houses  of  certain  members  of  the  Curia.  In  the  the- 
atrical performance  offered  by  Giacomo  Serra  to  his  circle 
of  acquaintances  on  the  eve  of  the  Epiphany  of  1513,  half 
the  seats  were  occupied  by  Spanish  cortigiane,  although  the 

^  The  literature  on  Tullia  d'  Ara<;;ona  is  very  rich.  Compare  Cchini  Eurico, 
Le  Rime  di  TuUin  d'  Arar/ona.  \\o\ogiy.\,  ISOl;  Honjji,  "  II  velo  giaHo  di  T. 
d'  A.,"  in  Rivisia  Critini,  iii,  a.  LSSG,  p.  90  ;  Hiai,n  Guido,  "  Una  Et^ra  Roinana," 
iu  Nttova  Aidolngia,  xxi,  a.  1S8(),  p.  G81;  Luzio,  "  Fedorigo  Couzaga,"  in 
Archivio  Stnria  Patrin,  ix,  a.  1S87,  p.  509. 


LIFE   IN   THE    CITY  67 

guest  of  honor  for  the  evening'  was  the  Pope's  favorite,  the 
son  of  IsabeUa  d'  Este,  Fedeiigo  Conzaga,  then  only  twelve 
years  old. 

It  is  true  that  in  the  majority  of  cases  the  behavior  of 
these  women  was  not  only  decent,  but  decidedly  more  refined 
than  that  of  many  ladies  of  rank ;  and  that  the  education 
they  gave  to  their  children  Avas  better  than  that  given  to 
many  young  scions  of  the  Roman  patriciate.  The  daughter 
of  Imperia,  the  "  queen  of  beauty  "  of  the  time  of  Leo  X, 
preferred  to  kill  herself  rather  than  to  fall  the  victim  of  the 
governor  of  Siena,  where  she  lived  in  retirement.  Imperia, 
herself,  having  succumbed  to  a  fatal  illness  in  the  prime  of 
youth,  was  buried  in  the  church  of  San  Gregorio  al  Celio, 
in  a  marble  tomb  bearing  the  following  inscrijition  :  — 

IMPERIA  •  CORTISANA  '  ROMANA 

QVAE  •  DIGXA  *  TAXTO  '  NOMIXE 

RARAE •  INTER  '  HOMIXES  *  FORMAE 

SPECIMEN  •  DEDIT 

VIXIT  •  ANNOS  •  XXVI  *  DIES  "  XII 

OBIIT  •  MDXI  •  DIE  '  XV  '  AVGVSTI  ^ 

Whenever  the  Tortora  left  her  house  for  church  or  for  a 
promenade,  four  footmen,  two  pages,  one  maid,  and  several 
admirers  formed  her  escort.  Lucrezia  Portia  attended  mass 
surrounded  by  ten  pages  and  ten  maids.  The  Padovana 
included  in  her  suite  many  secretaries  and  clerks  from  her 
banking  and  money-lending  establishment.  The  Panta  is 
said  to  have  squandered  in  a  few  years  the  sum  of  three 
hundred  thousand  scudi,  the  revenue  of  a  province. 

After  having  enjoyed  immunity  and  received  encourage- 

1  Imperia,  Roman  courtesan,  who,  worthy  of  the  great  name,  was  gifted  with 
incomparable  beauty,  lived  twenty-six  years,  twelve  days;  died  on  August  15 
of  the  year  1511.  Compare  Roscoe,  Life  of  Leo  X,  vol.  iii,  p.  93,  note;  Forcella, 
Iscrizioni  delle  chiese  de'  Roma,  vol.  ii,  j).  104,  note  287. 


(J8  Lll'l-:    ly    THE    CITY 

ment  from  every  ciuarter  for  about  half  a  century,  these 
"  Muses  of  the  Ivenaissauce  "  untlerwent  their  first  persecu- 
tion at  tlie  a})i)roach  of  the  Jubilee  of  L")25,  by  order  of  the 
austeri'  Pope  Adrian  W.  '' Alas  !"  exclaims  Andrea  Calino 
on  the  evt'  of  his  pilgrima<>e,  ''  what  a  sad  .lubilee  we  expect 
to  have,  since  Kome  has  been  deprived  of  its  best  attraction." 
The  changes  in  the  attitude  of  the  various  i)opes  towards 
the  eratpat  are  registered  indirectly  in  contemporary  sta- 
tistics. According"  to  Infessara  six  thousand  were  numbered 
in  1-190.  It  is  true  that  this  diarist  of  Innocent  VIII  is 
always  ready  to  cast  blame  ui)on  the  actions  of  the  master 
he  served,  but  even  if  diminished  by  one  half,  the  number 
is  extraordinary  for  a  city  of  fifty  or  sixty  thousand  inhab- 
itants. In  1549  four  hundred  and  eighty-four  "  cortigiane 
honeste  "  were  registered,  together  with  many  thousands  of 
the  lower  grade.  In  1592,  according  to  the  information 
collected  l)y  Cardinal  Rusticucci,  the  vicar  of  Sixtus  V,  the 
women  leadino-  an  irreo-ular  life  within  the  walls  had  risen 
to  the  total  of  nineteen  thousand.  Such  a  condition  of 
things  could  not  help  bringing  dire  results  for  the  health 
of  the  city,  es])ecially  as  the  space  to  wdiicli  the  wretched 
women  of  the  lowest  type  Avere  relegated  was  shifted  from 
time  to  time  from  one  quarter  to  another.  At  the  time  of 
Sixtus  IV  they  were  immured  near  the  Bocca  della  Verita, 
in  a  filthy  labyrinth  of  lanes  called  the  Bordelletto,  within 
sight  of  the  church  of  the  repentant  Saint  Mary  the  Egyp- 
tian. A  quarter  of  a  century  later  we  find  them  mustered 
in  the  unhealthy  district  between  the  Ghetto  and  the  Ponte 
Sisto,  and  lastly  they  seem  to  have  been  confined  to  the 
Quartiere  dell'  Ortaccio,  now  represented  by  the  Piazza  di 
Montedoro,  a  network  of  alleys  extending  from  the  church 
of  Sant'  Ambrogio  dei  Lombardi  (S.Carlo  al  Corso)  to 
those  of  San  Giacomo  degli  Schiavoni  e  San  Rocco. 


LIFE    IX    THE    CITY  ()1> 

We  must  i-enieniber,  also,  that  the  Bordelletto,  the  ()r- 
taceio,  and  in  general  all  the  low-lying  districts  on  either  side 
of  the  Tiber,  were  not  })rovi(le(l  with  drainage.  The  Cloaca 
Maxima  and  the  drain  of  the  Circus  Flaminius  answered  at 
intervals  their  old  purpose,  so  far  as  the  increase  in  the  level 
of  the  city  would  allow  it ;  but  more  frequent  were  the  cases 
in  which  either  the  silt  deposited  by  the  overflowing'  river, 
or  the  accumulation  of  refuse,  would  stop  the  flow  of  the 
sewage  and  turn  the  neighborliood  into  a  deadly  quagmire. 
These  occurrences  were  periodical  in  the  hollows  of  the 
Forum  Augustum  and  of  the  Campo  Vaccino  ;  in  fact,  a 
bridge  had  been  thrown  over  the  stream  of  liquid  poison  to 
keep  open  the  communication  with  the  church  and  nu)nas- 
tery  of  Santa  Maria  Liberatrice.  The  topographers  and 
archjieologists  of  the  sixteenth  century,  in  describing  the 
ruins  and  excavations  of  the  Forum,  refer  to  this  bridge 
under  the  name  of  "  Ponticello  "  as  to  a  well-known  land- 
mark ;  and  Martin  Heemskerk  has  left  a  memorandum  of 
it  in  the  sketch-book  formerly  in  the  possession  of  the 
Parisian  architect  Destailleurs,  and  now  in  the  Imperial 
Museum  at  Berlin.  The  same  noxious  stream  is  seen  cross- 
ing the  Campo  Vaccino  diagonally  from  the  church  of  Sant' 
Adriano  to  that  of  Santa  Maria  Liberatrice,  in  the  ])ano- 
ramic  view  dedicated  in  17G3  to  Count  Rezzonico,  nephew  of 
Clement  XIII,  by  the  celebrated  engraver  Giusejipe  Yasi. 

The  name  of  Pantano  —  the  Boo*  —  still  oiven  to  the 
forum  of  Auofustus  owes  its  ori«in  to  the  same  cause.  The 
Pantano  extended  from  the  southern  boundary  of  the  forum 
of  Trajan  to  beyond  the  Argiletum,  and  being  very  much 
in  favor  with  the  vegetable  growers  and  market  gardeners 
of  the  district,  it  brought  a  considerable  revenue  to  the 
Knights  Templars  of  San  Basilio,  to  whom  it  belonged. 
Pius  V  and   Prospero    Boccapaduli  put  an  end  to  the  dis- 


70  L1FI-:    IX    TIIK    CITY 

(Ti'at'efiil  s])ec-iilatioii  in  ir)7()  l)y  filling-  uj)  the  boi;'  to  the 
le\t'l  of  tile  [H'l'seiit  Via  Alcssaiidriiia. 

The  cemeteries,  of"  wiiicli  there  were  as  many  as  there 
were  parish  chinches,  convents,  and  hospitals,  furnished, 
another  source  of  infection,  heing'  in  contact  with  the  houses 
of  the  living.  Thus  the  corpses  of  the  unfortunate  who  died 
in  the  liospital  of  San  Giovanni,  in  the  island  of  the  Tiber, 
at  the  rate  of  a  hundred  and  fifty  a  nu)nth,  were  buried  in  a 
yard  directly  under  the  windows  of  the  ward  in  which  the 
sick  lay.  The  stench  (foetor  cadaceruiii )  became  so  foul 
that  the  Town  Council,  at  the  sitting-  of  A})ril  27,  1591, 
voted  funds  for  the  opening  of  another  burial-place  "  away 
from  the  inhabited  quarters,  and  not  prejudicial  to  their 
health." 

Many  of  these  hotbeds  of  disease  have  been  rediscovered 
in  my  time.  I  remember,  in  particular,  those  of  Santa  Maria 
Nuova,  of  the  Pantheon,  of  San  Sebastiano  in  Pallara,  of 
San  Marcello  de  Via  Lata,  of  San  Nicolao  de  Calcarario, 
of  San  Ciriaco  de  Camilliano,  and  of  Santa  Maria  in  Cam- 
])itello.  The  largest  of  all,  adjoining  the  hosi)ital  of  Santa 
Maria  delle  Grazie,  occupied  one  half  of  the  Basilica  Julia, 
the  layer  of  human  remains  being  from  six  to  eight  feet  in 
thickness.  Flaminio  Vacca '  relates  the  following  remark- 
able discovery  :  "  While  Bernardo  Acciajuoli  was  excavat- 
ing his  garden  on  the  Quirinal,  on  the  site  of  the  baths  of 
Coivstantine,  he  entered  two  underground  vaulted  passages, 
the  outer  end  of  which  was  cut  off  by  a  wall  built  in  a 
hurry  and  out  of  the  perpendicular.  Beyond  this  obstacle, 
which  was  removed  without  difficulty,  the  cellars  appeared 
to  be  full  of  human  bones.  Bernardo  Acciajuoli  being  mv 
friend,  I  was  sent  at  once  to  investigate  the  matter.    The 

'  Memnrie  dl  varie  antichita  trovate  in  fliversi  luoghi  della  cittu  ili  Roma,  scritte 
da  Flaminio  A'acca  nel  1594:.    Published  by  Carlo  Fea  in  1790,  n.  112. 


THE    REMAINS    OF    THE    BATHS    OF    CONSTANTINE    Ix\    THE 
GARDEN  OF  BERNARDO  ACCIAJUOLI,  ON  THE  QUIRINAL 


LIFE   IX   THE    CITY  '  73 

first  thing"  I  noticed  on  entering  the  crypts  was  that  he- 
tweeu  the  upper  layer  of  bones  and  the  top  of  the  walled 
ceiling  there  was  an  empty  space,  about  four  feet  high,  which 
space  allowed  us  to  reach  the  end  of  both  cellars,  sinking 
knee-deep  in  the  crumbling  mass  of  skeletons.  Each  gallery 
was  ninety  feet  long,  twenty-six  wide.  Now  as  the  ceilings 
of  both  were  intact,  without  loopholes  or  skylights,  it  is 
evident  that  these  poor  people  must  have  died  and  their 
corpses  must  have  been  heaped  up  layer  after  layer  all  at 
once,  whether  in  consequence  of  an  outbreak  of  the  plague 
or  of  a  wholesale  massacre  of  citizens  I  cannot  say.  The 
empty  space  above  must  have  been  caused  by  the  sinking  of 
the  mass,  after  the  corpses  w^ere  turned  into  skeletons ;  and 
the  hasty  manner  in  which  the  walls  were  built  at  each  end 
shows  how  anxious  the  masons  were  to  escape  from  the 
ghastly  place." 

Another  discovery  of  the  same  kind  was  made  in  the 
seventeeth  century  in  the  garden  belonging  to  the  Barberini 
palace,  while  workmen  were  laying  the  foundations  of  the 
pedestal  for  the  obelisk  which  the  brothers  Curzio  and  Mar- 
cello  Saccoccia  had  discovered  in  1570,  in  the  circus  of  the 
Varian  Gardens  beyond  Santa  Croce  in  Gerusalemme,  and 
which,  after  many  wanderings,  has  now  been  set  up  again 
in  the  central  avenue  of  the  Pincio  Gardens.  Pietro  Sante 
Bartoli,  who  watched  the  Barberini  excavations  in  the 
interest  of  science,  speaks  of  a  "stanzone"  or  hall  fifty  feet 
high,  filled  with  a  "  quantita  grandissima  di  ossa  umane." 

Many  of  the  parish  cemeteries,  abandoned  or  very  seldom 
in  use,  served  as  receptacles  for  the  refuse  of  the  city,  when- 
ever the  sleepy  authorities  remembered  to  collect  it  from  the 
streets,  into  which  it  was  first  dumped  from  the  window^s. 
There  was  virtually  an  office  in  the  capital  called  "  officium 
immunditiarum  urbis,"   but  we   must    consider  it  more  as 


7-4  Lll'l-:    IN   THE    CITY 

an  airha'olooical  it'iiiinisteiice  of  the  classic  "  <juattuor 
viri  viis  in  nil)c  pnroandis ''  than  as  an  efficient  institution. 
Streets  \\v\v  swept  only  on  extraordinary  occasions,  such  as 
tile  .luhilees,  the  election  of  ;i  new  Po})e,  the  arrival  in  state 
of  a  new  ambassador,  and  so  on,  and  a  special  vote  of  the 
Town  Council  was  re(|uired  to  make  the  proceedinos  le^al. 
Thus,  on  January  23,  !")()(),  the  municipality  decreed  that 
the  thoroughfares  through  which  the  newly  elected  Pius 
IV  was  to  ride  on  the  day  of  the  "  Solenne  Possesso "  ^ 
should  be  cleaned.  The  same  precautions  were  taken  under 
the  fear  of  an  outbreak  of  the  plague.  When  news  reached 
the  city  magistrates  in  July,  1564,  that  the  scourge  had 
already  made  its  appearance  in  the  hill-towns  which  sur- 
round the  Campagna,  Marcantonio  Borghese  proposed,  and 
the  council  voted,  that  the  city  should  be  cleared  of  "  pu- 
trid things  "  and  carcasses ;  that  j)igs  and  goats  should  not 
be  allowed  to  roam  about  free  ;  that  the  refuse  of  the  houses 
should  not  be  thrown  from  the  windows  ;  and,  lastly,  that 
waste-pipes  should  no  longer  have  their  outlet  in  the  streets. 
But  as  soon  as  the  last  human  victims  of  this  particular 
plague  were  buried,  the  old  habits  were  resumed,  to  such  an 
extent  that  an  emergency  committee  of  four  noblemen  was 
appointed  in  1567  to  clean  the  Augean  stables  once  more. 

Carts  for  the  removal  of  waste  were  used  for  the  first 
time  in  the  Jubilee  of  1525  ;  but  so  slow  progress  was 
made  in  this  most  im]iortant  branch  of  the  city  administra- 
tion that  two  hundred  and  twenty-five  years  later,  namely, 
in  the  Jubilee  of  1750,  only  twenty-eight  sweepers  and 
thirty-six  cartmen  were  engaged  to  keep  the  city  clean. 
Another  remarkable  set  of  regulations  is  the  one  issued  by 
the  energetic  Cardinal  Enrico  Caetani,  at  the  approach  of 

1  Cancellieri  Francesco,  5^or/r?  c/f'  snleiuu  possess!  de'  sommi  poidejiri  da  Leone 
III  a  Pio  VII.   Rome,  Lazzaiiiii,  ISOli. 


LIFE   IN  THE    CITY  75 

the  Jubilee  of  1600 ;  he  threatens  with  three  stretches  on 
the  rack,  and  jail  ad  libit um,  whosoever  should  dare  to 
dump  in  the  street  dead  domestic  animals,  hay,  straw,  gar- 
bage, and  the  like ;  he  also  warns  the  owners  of  pigs  that 


A  lane  of  medieval  Rome  —  the  Lungarina  —  destroyed  in 

1SS0-18S2 

any  such  beast  found  wandering  in  the  city  after  the  31st 
day  of  October  (the  first  pilgrims  were  expected  to  arrive 
in  November)  might  be  killed  and  appropriated  by  the  first 
comer,  without  penalty.  The  city  was  freed  of  this  nuisance 
only  in  1731. 

The  Vatican  district,  although  inhabited  by  the  Pope  and 
the  prelates  of  the  Curia,  had  not  lost  hygienically  the  ill- 


7()  LIFE   IX   THE   CTTY 

fame  of  old  times,  and  to  it  could  still  be  ai)j)lied  the  charac- 
teristic of  '*  iiifainis,"  bestowed  ii})oii  it  by  Tacitus  in  con- 
nection with  the  nuilarious  epidemic  which  carried  off  whole 
conii»anies  of  soldiers  encamped  '*  int'amibus  Valicani  locis," 
in  the  summer  ot  the  yeai-  70  A,  d.'  The  cause  of  this 
uuhealthiness,  peculiar  to  the  Borgo,  is  supposed  to  have 
been  the  stagnant  water  which  filled  the  moats  of  Castel 
Sant'  Angelo,  and  also  the  ditch  runnini»'  parallel  with  the 
walls  of  Leo  IV  and  Pius  IV.  I  have  seen  tliem  myself  in 
this  condition  with  their  sluoo-jsh  polluted  stream,  before 
the  Italian  administration  tilled  up  both  hollows  about  1874, 
and  altered  the  course  of  the  Fosso  della  Sposata,  the 
water  of  which  was  lari>ely  used  in  summer  for  the  irrijra- 
tion  of  the  orchards  and  gardens  of  the  ''  Prati  di  Castello." 
No  wonder  the  Borgo  was  considered  the  unhealthiest  dis- 
trict of  Rome ;  in  certain  years  it  became  absolutely  the 
deadliest.  In  August,  1503,  when  Pope  Alexander  VI  was 
stricken  with  his  fatal  illness  wdiile  takino-  refreshments 
in  the  garden  of  Cardinal  Adriano  da  Corneto,  the  fever 
had  laid  low  half  the  members  of  the  Pope's  household, 
the  majority  of  cases  having  proved  fatal.  A  similar  epi- 
demic is  recorded  for  the  year  1605;  but  although  the 
Borghigiani  and  the  inmates  of  the  Vatican  died  l)y  hun- 
dreds, the  pestilential  ditches  were  not  drained  until  the  23d 
day  of  September.  Again,  Cardinal  Noris,  in  a  letter  dated 
September  10,  1695,  says  that  seven  hundred  Borghigiani 
had  already  been  carried  away  by  malignant  fevers  in  the 
course  of  that  summer. 

To  these  causes  of  infection  we  must  add  another  not 
less  pernicious  in  its  consequences,  the  pollution  of  drinking 
water.  Alas,  the  golden  days  when  Rome  boasted  of  eleven 
aqueducts,  measuring  three  hundred  and  thirty-eight  miles 

1  Hifitoriarnm.  Book  II,  cli.  93. 


LIFE   IN   THE   CITY 


11 


in  aggregate  length,  and  discharging  a  daily  supply  of 
one  million  seven  hundred  and  forty-seven  thousand  cuhic 
metres  of  the  purest  water,  at  the  rate  of  eighteen  hundred 
litres  per  head,  were  gone  forever. 

Save  for  the  Aqua  Virgo,  which  continued  to  flow  inter- 
mittently in  the  fountain  of  Trevi,  and  for  a  remnant  of  the 
Aqua  Trajana  which  supplied,  also  at  intervals,  the  fountain 
of  Innocent  VIII  in  the  Piazza  di  S.  Pietro  and  that  in  the 
Piazza  of  Santa  Maria  in  Trastevere,  there  was  no  water 


The  spring-  of  Juturna,  near  the  temple  of  Castor  and  Pollux 

but  what  could  be  obtained  from  the  Tiber  and  from  wells. 
From  this  point  of  view  the  mediaeval  city  had  gone  back 
to  the  days  of  its  infancy,  of  which  Julius  Frontinus,  the 
chief  commissioner  of  aqueducts  at  the  time  of  Trajan, 
says  :  "  During  four  hundred  and  forty-one  years  after  the 
foundation  of  the  city  the  Romans  satisfied  themselves  with 
the  use  of  such  Avater  as  they  could  obtain  on  the  spot  from 


78  LIFE    IS    THE    CITY 

the  Til)(.'r  or  from  spiiiiiis  .  .  ,  like  those  of  the  Camoentie, 
of  Apolh),  ;uul  of  Mercury."  These  si)rin<>s  may  have  been 
whok'some  in  the  ai»e  to  which  Frontiiuis  refers;  hut  at  the 
time  wliicli  falls  within  the  scope  of  this  hook,  the  sprhigs, 
being-  forced  to  Hlter  through  strataof  rubbish,  mostly  formed 
from  the  decay  of  vegetable  or  aiiinial  matter,  had  certainly 
lost  their  purity.  Of  this  fact  we  have  lately  been  given  an 
object  lesson  in  the  rediscovery  of  the  fountain  of  Juturna. 
We  hailed  with  delight  the  reappearance  of  this  poetical 
source  at  which  Castor  and  Pollux,  bearing  to  Rome  the  joy- 
ful tidings  of  the  victory  of  Lake  Regillus,  are  said  to  have 
watered  their  steeds.  We  expected  to  be  able  to  quench 
our  thirst  with  the  same  licpiid  crystal  that  the  Vestals  used 
in  purifying  the  shrine  of  their  goddess  ;  we  were,  however, 
doomed  to  disappointment.  Chemical  analysis  has  shown 
the  spring  of  Juturna  to  be  now  saturated  with  nitrogenous 
matter,  so  as  to  be  unfit  for  human  use.  This  corru})tion 
must  have  happened  after  the  occupation  of  that  classic 
corner  of  ancient  Rome  by  the  cemetery  connected  with 
the  church  of  Santa  Maria  Antiqua,  and  after  the  same 
spot  had  been  selected  by  Paul  II  as  a  dumping-place  for 
the  refuse  of  the  city. 

As  regards  the  Tiber,  there  is  no  doubt  that  people 
drank  its  water  with  impunity.  Alessandro  Petroni,  physi- 
cian and  friend  of  St.  Ignatius  Loyola,  and  archiater  of 
Pope  Gregory  XIII,  praises  its  wholesome  qualities  in  a 
pamphlet  "  De  aqua  Tiberina  ad  Julium  III  pout,  max." 
(Rome,  1552).  Another  writer,  Francesco  Cancellieri,  says 
that  long  after  the  restoration  of  the  old  aqueducts  of 
Agrippa  by  Pius  IV,  of  Severus  Alexander  by  Sixtus  V,  and 
of  Trajan  by  Paul  V,  several  monastic  establishments,  such 
as  the  Theresians  of  Santa  Maria  della  Scala,  the  Benedic- 
tines of  San  Callisto,  and  the  Oratorians  of  Santa  Maria  in 


A  VIEW   OF    THE    I'ORTO  \ 

To  show  tlie  place  (marked  +)  where  Santa  F 


ON  I  NO    ON    THE    TIBER 
cesca  Romana  was  rescued  from  drowning 


LIFE   IN  THE    CITY  79 

Vallicella,  continued  to  fill  their  cisterns  with  water  from 
the  river.  Clement  VII,  on  the  advice  of  his  physician, 
Corti,  in  the  journey  to  Marseilles  which  he  undertook  in 
1553,  to  celebrate  the  marriage  of  his  niece  Catherine  de' 
Medici  with  the  Duke  of  Orleans,  provided  himself  with 
sufficient  water  from  the  river  to  last  throug'hout  his  ab- 
sence. The  same  precaution  is  said  to  have  been  taken  by 
Paul  III  in  his  journeying's  to  Loreto,  Bologna,  and  Nice. 
Gregory  XIII  attributed  to  the  habitual  use  of  this  water 
the  fact  of  his  having*  reached  his  eighty-fourth  year  in  full 
enjoyment  of  health. 

The  author  of  the  life  of  Santa  Francesca  Romana  says 
that  the  pious  widow  was  passing  one  day,  with  her  friend 
Vannozza  Santacroce,  by  the  church  of  San  Leonardo  in 
Settimiana  (which  stood  at  that  time  near  the  water's  edge 
on  the  site  of  the  present  Porto  Leonino),  and  that  they  both 
fell  into  the  river  while  bending  for  a  drink.  Their  miracu- 
lous escape  from  drowning  was  afterwards  painted  in  a  shrine 
of  the  garden  adjoining  the  church  of  San  Leonardo.  This 
and  other  similar  instances,  which  I  abstain  from  quoting, 
show  that  the  Romans  of  the  middle  ages  and  of  the  early 
Renaissance  must  have  been  proof  against  typhoid  fever,  of 
which  the  Tiber,  acting  as  the  main  sewer  of  the  city,  did 
certainly  contain  the  germs.  No  wonder  that  the  honorable 
Compagnia  degli  Acquariciarii  or  water-carriers  should  have 
prospered  under  this  state  of  things.  Their  headquarters 
were  at  the  chapel  of  Sant'  Andrea,  the  site  of  which  is  now 
occupied  by  the  church  of  Santa  Maria  della  Pace.  The 
beautiful  Madonna  on  the  high  altar  is  the  same  that  was 
once  worshipped  by  the  water-carriers.  Tradition  relates 
that  having  been  struck  with  a  stone  by  a  member  of  the 
company  who  had  lost  heavily  at  cards,  the  figure  bled  ;  and 
that  Pope  Sixtus  IV  vowed  to  raise  a  temple  in  honor  of  the 


80  LIFE  IN   THE   CITY 

luiiac'iilous  iinai;('.  if  the  dangers  wliicli  threatened  Italy  in 
t'oiise([ii(.MK'e  of  tlie  Cong'iiira  de'  Paz/i  were  averted  by  the 
Virgin's  intercession. 

The  Ae(|uarieiarii  cairicd  the  water  in  barrels  strapped 
on  the  Itacks  of  (h)nl<evs  ;  and  as  m  Rome  even  the  com- 
mon oi'cnrrences  of  life  mnst  have  a  monnmenta]  or  an 
artistic  exi)ression,  we  find  tliat  tlie  armorial  bearing  of 
the  ancient  hospital  of  the  Saviour  ''  ad  Sancta  Sanctorum  " 
actually  consists  of  a  donkey  and  a  barrel,  because  the  com- 
])anv  of  the  Aquariciarii  was  foremost  among  the  founders 
of  that  benevolent  institution. 

The  water  trade  must  have  been  remunerative.  I  have 
among  my  notes  a  copy  of  a  contract  passed  between  Gio- 
vanni Battista,  water-carrier,  and  a  priest  named  Girolamo 
Garzia,  by  which  the  former  binds  himself  to  sell  water  in 
the  streets  in  the  interest  of  the  latter,  for  the  space  of 
two  years,  find  for  a  remuneration  of  thirty  carlini^  a  year, 
besides  two  overcoats  and  two  pairs  of  boots.  This  curious 
contract  is  dated  December  4,  1512. 

Plague  entered  the  city  and  made  havoc  among  the  pop- 
ulation at  least  twelve  times  in  the  course  of  the  sixteenth 
century.  It  is  true  that  the  name  was  then  applied  indiscrim- 
inately to  all  infectious  diseases  which  were  pro^jagated  by 
contact  and  could  be  checked  by  isolation  ;  yet  there  is  no 
doubt  that  the  scourge  which  decimated  the  city  in  ]r)22, 
l.")27-28,  15()4,  1575-76,  and  1595  was  the  real  bubonic  or 
inguinal  plague,  the  most  virulent  of  all.  The  provisions 
made  on  these  occasions  by  the  municipality  and  by  the 
Popes  were  the  same  old-fashioned  ones  which  we  have  seen 
applied  in  our  own  age  at  the  approach  of  the  cholera  epi- 
demics of  1854  and  1867,  viz.,  the  isolation  of  infected  dis- 
tricts or  individuals,  and  the  destruction  or  disinfection  of 

'  Two  dollars  and  ten  cents. 


LIFE  IN  THE   CITY  81 

any  substance,  object,  or  article  of  wear,  to  which  the  power 
of  spreading-  the  infection  was  attributed  by  science  or  by 
popular  superstition.  In  applying  these  measures,  however, 
many  exceptions  to  the  rule  w^ere  made  by  those  in  power, 
when  private  interests  or  reasons  of  state  were  at  stake  ;  and 
what  impresses  us  most  is  that  the  measures  were  only  tem- 
porary ;  once  the  danger  was  past,  no  thought  was  given  to 
the  possibility  of  its  return,  and  each  new  epidemic  found 
the  city  just  as  much  unprepared,  unclean,  unfit  as  the  time 
before.  Many  interesting  details  about  these  periodical  vis- 
itations can  be  found  in  the  archives  of  the  Capitol,  or  in 
the  registers  of  contemporary  notaries.  I  have  read  many 
wills  dictated  from  wdndows  by  the  plague-stricken  testa- 
tors, while  the  notary  and  the  witnesses  were  standing  in 
the  street  below,  in  fear  of  their  own  lives  ;  I  have  also  min- 
utes of  agreements  between  practitioners  or  quacks  on  one 
side  and  various  Roman  families  on  the  other,  by  which  the 
former  agree  to  give  medical  advice  and  to  supply  drugs  in 
case  of  emergency,  and  for  a  specified  remuneration. 

The  difiiculties  with  which  Rome  had  to  contend  w^ere 
increased  tenfold  by  the  fact  that,  at  the  first  intimation  of 
danger,  the  court  would  escape  to  a  place  of  safety,  leaving 
the  municipality  to  face  the  situation  as  well  as  it  could. 
In  May,  1449,  Nicholas  V  fled  into  Umbria  ;  in  1462  Pius  II 
repaired  first  to  Viterbo,  then  to  Bolsena,  lastly  to  Corsi- 
gnano.  Sixtus  IV  in  June,  1476,  retired  to  Viterbo,  Cam- 
pagnano,  and  Amelia.  In  April,  1522,  while  the  pestilence 
was  at  its  height,  Adrian  VI  sent  word  from  Spain  that  a 
new  tax  of  five  giulii  per  house  should  be  imposed  on  the 
city,  to  start  a  crusade  against  the  Turks  !  And  as  the  car- 
dinals were  leaving  one  by  one,  by  land  or  by  sea,  under 
plea  of  joining  the  Pope,  the  Town  Council,  in  the  meeting 
of  June  4,  voted  an  address  to  the  Sacred  College,  asking 


82  z //•'/•;  i\  Till-:  city 

tlu'in  not  to  (losort  tlieir  place  ot"  duty.  In  the  mean  time 
the  citizens,  tiyino-  to  escape  in  the  direction  of  the  Sabine 
and  Sind)rulne  liills,  were  met  l)y  Td)urtniians  at  the  out- 
skirts of  tlieir  territory  and  chased  hack  with  s[)ikes  and 
cnd<;"els,  amidst  yells  of  "Death  to  the;  IJomans!"  No 
wonder  that,  forsaken  by  tlieir  leaders  and  driven  to  des- 
peration, the  Romans  should  have  lent  a  williiii;'  ear  to  the 
suggestions  of  an  impostor,  a  Greek  from  Sparta  named 
Demetrios,  a  master  of  the  blacdi  art  and  a  necromancer  by 
profession.  Demetrios  told  them  that,  as  the  ordeal  they 
were  going  through  was  the  work  of  the  devil,  to  him  they 
were  bound  to  appeal  in  their  distress.  Accordingly  he  was 
permitted  to  lead  through  the  streets,  by  a  silken  string,  a 
bull  whose  fierceness  he  had  tamed  by  magic  power.  The 
bull  was  led  into  the  arena  of  the  Coliseum  and  sacrificed  to 
the  evil  one,  according  to  the  ritual  of  classic  times.  We 
can  hardlv  believe  that  such  a  sacrilege  could  have  l)een 
committed  in  Rome  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  fifteen  hundred 
and  twenty-two,  and  under  the  rule  of  the  austere  Adrian 
VI ;  yet  the  event  is  duly  chronicled  by  Bizarus,  Rinaldi, 
and  other  historians  of  that  period.' 

As  soon  as  the  clergv  and  the  ])eo])le  realized  the  enormity 
of  the  sacrilege  of  which  they  had  been  willing  witnesses, 
an  expiatory  ])rocession  was  ordered,  in  which  men  and  boys 
marched  scourofin<»'  themselves  to  bleedinof,  while  women 
barefooted  and  in  sackcloth  cried  "  Misericordia,  Misericor- 
dia  !  "  The  beautiful  Oratorio  del  Crocifisso,  by  the  church 
of  San  Marcello,  must  also  be  considered  as  an  expiatory 
monument  of  the  same  event. 

Among  the  provisions  against  the  plague  registered  in 
the  city  records,  I  find  the  closing  of  several  gates,  the  sup- 
pression of  the  navigation  of  the  Tiber,  and  the  wholesale 

'  See  Gregorovius,  vol.  viii,  p.  487  of  the  Italian  edit.,  Venice,  187G. 


LIFE   IN   THE   CITY 


83 


destruction  of  dried  Hsli,  especially  herrings  and  stockfish. 
The  gates  left  open  could  be  entered  only  from  the  break 
of  day  to  nightfall,  when  they  were  locked  and  the  keys 
brought  to  the  Capitol.  On  July  30,  1575,  an  order  was 
issued  that  all  the  boats  of  the  Tiber  should  be  scuttled  in 
three  days.  The  reason  for  this  extraordinary  measure  was 
that  boatmen  and  bargemen  had  been  bribed  over  and  over 
again  to  transfer  passengers  across  the  stream.  Two  trans- 
gressors, Lorenzo  da  Montefalco  and  Lorenzo  da  Siena, 
cauo-ht  on  Auo-ust  7,  were  stretched  on  the  rack  at  the  Torre 


The  grave  of  Marco  Albertoni,  who  died  of  tlie  plague  on  the  22d  day  of  July,  1485 

di  Nona,  with  a  placard  explaining  their  offence.  Six  days 
later,  the  police,  having  learned  that  a  certain  Flaminio  had 
likewise  broken  the  regulations,  sank  his  barge  at  the  land- 
ing of  Ripetta  and  put  a  ransom  on  his  head. 

There  are  several  mementos  in  Rome  of  those  times  of 
desolation.  The  confraternity  of  the  Pieta,  still  nominally 
existing  in  the  church  of  San  Giovanni  de'  Fiorentini,  was 
established  in  the  time  of  Eugene  IV  (1431-1447)  for  the 


84  A//. 7-;  IX  Tin-:  (  irv 

|)Uipt)se  of  hel})lng"  the  wretclies  left  to  die  alone  in  the 
piihlic  streets.  The  feast  (lav  of  the  Inmiaciilate  Coiieeption, 
which  now  falls  on  the  Sth  of  Dcceiiiltcr,  was  made  a  day 
of  obliij^ation  hv  Sixtiis  1  \'  durini;-  the  pestilence  of  147(i. 
The  third  nuMuorial  in  order  of  date  is  the  grave  of  Marco 
Alhertoni,  who  *'  peste  ingninaria  interiit  "  on  Jnly  22,  1485, 
and  was  huried  in  the  eluirch  of  Santa  Maria  del  Popolo,  on 
the  left  side  of  the  chapel  of  Santa  Caterina  del  Portogallo. 

Of  the  epidemic  which  raged  in  the  time  of  Alexander  VI, 
as  a  conse(pience  of  the  Hood  of  Decend)er,  1495,  we  have 
a  document  in  the  extraordinary  hook  of  the  Pope's  own 
arehiater,  Pintor,  in  which  a  touch  of  certain  })recious  stones 
is  proclaimed  to  be  an  infallible  means  of  cure.  We  learn, 
however,  from  the  same  book  a  historical  fact,  namely,  that 
the  dreaded  "  morbus  gallicus  "  made  its  first  api)earance  in 
Rome  in  March,  1493,  and  that  by  the  following  August  it 
had  already  made  a  considerable  nund)er  of  victims. 

In  a  rare  pamphlet  attributed  to  Paolo  Giovio,  arehiater 
of  Pope  Clement  VII,  the  virtue  of  a  wonderful  oil  to  cure 
the  })lague,  invented  by  Gregorio  Caravita,  a  phvsician  from 
Bologna,  is  praised  to  excess ;  in  fact,  to  it  is  attributed  the 
cessation  of  the  infection  of  1522.  I  may  also  note,  among 
these  interesting  reminiscences,  the  lovely  chapel  in  the 
Collegio  Romano,  erected  to  the  memory  of  San  Liiigi  Gon- 
zaga,  in  the  very  room  in  which  the  saintlv  voutli  died  on 
June  21,  1591,  in  consequence  of  his  exertions  in  carrving 
on  his  frail  shoulders  the  victims  of  the  plague  of  Gregory 
XIV  to  the  hospital  of  la  Consolazione.  The  most  con- 
spicuous memorial  of  this  kind  raised  in  Rome  is  the  church 
of  Santa  Maria  in  Campitelli.  It  was  erected,  or  rather 
rebuilt  in  its  present  form,  in  consequence  of  a  vow  made 
by  the  S.  P.  Q.  R.  in  1659  for  the  cessation  of  another 
pestilence. 


I  Carrozid  Jtlt  lecZSt^.PnpiV.Miirw.juofujholo.t  Xijiote .  Che  iiannoiiuistUirlfPortt  cttlla  Citiii 
Zj^rta  tl(llPoj.fc(fjltr  Camelhttt.taiinnfii.  eonfhrrnfjinio  in  iiittfl  altrc  di  ]{ornti 


;?  S  Iiartc!'4J.n:znf_flhii,^mit  I 


1 8  Palai!^\tCniflemilr  wli''ir/llnCivy-,iti  eCnrt  z:.i  JhUoriiiiuviio li.iXoriun'i  in.^rii  ctL!lrn}uUi.i!!/ijo/,iJioSl>invoiiii:Jcniizitrle/jeri:r'' 
cttlaltJJ^onht.■^^•.C\^lrl>olTl.lll,^r,^ul.x8T•]rloneliclGhf^(><'ll:rntn■lo^'fnc!ul!i•|ie!'r•■llL,lZ2^lrelto  ''  '        a     '   -| 


THE    PLAGUE    OF   Al 

From  a  rare  contemporary  print  representing  the  fo 
Prince  Cliigi.     (2)   Barge-loads  of  corpses  from  the 
practices  for  fighting  the  plague  in  the  infected  d; 
the  Walls 


^vfumnlori yohn  33  SolHah.che^tianianoU  Forte  dtlla  Citin  3^  CorrozztiiccheccittfiiietmRelniuvo  ,■  Cc'imj.i.fporflu  clic  nchm 


Qn.'^^Shmo'rH.'''^''^'^^^-""'^^'^- 


XANDER   VII,    A.  1659 

ing  scenes:  (i)  The  inspection  of  the  city  gates  by 
aret  in  the  island  of  San  Bartolomeo.  (3-5)  Various 
cts.     (6)  The  "field  of  death  '  near  St.  Paul  outside 


LIFE   IN    THE   CITY  8.") 

After  the  tales  of  distress  and  cowardice  which  1  have 
related  above,  it  is  certainly  a  welcome  change  to  find  in 
Fabio  Chig'i,  Pope  Alexander  VII,  worthy  descendant  of  the 
Magnifico  Agostino,  such  an  example  of  wisdom,  courage, 
practical  sense,  ardent  charity,  in  saving  his  city  from  this 
last  visitation.  One  cannot  read  the  account  of  his  deeds  on 
this  occasion  without  wondering  why  a  testimonial  of  grat- 
itude has  not  yet  been  raised  to  him,  either  in  the  Capitol 
or  in  the  court  of  the  Chigi  palace. 

During  the  eventful  period  which  I  am  attempting  to 
describe,  the  practice  of  medicine  and  surgery  was  not 
always  learned  or  acquired  in  universities  or  hospitals,  but 
in  many  cases  by  the  students  devoting  themselves  to  the 
service  of  a  practitioner.  These  young  candidates  generally 
pledged  themselves  to  serve  the  master  for  five  years, 
receiving  no  pay  except  a  change  of  clothing  every  twelve 
months.  Those  who  excelled  in  the  profession,  and  had 
obtained  a  regular  degree  at  Padova,  Bologna,  or  Perugia, 
called  themselves  "  artium  et  medicinae  doctores,"  while 
their  humbler  colleagues  satisfied  themselves  with  the  title 
of  "fisici"  or  "  chirugici."  Jews  were  not  excluded  from 
the  craft ;  in  fact,  they  were  favorite  doctors  with  a  certain 
class  of  citizens,  and  occasionally  with  popes.  I  have  tran- 
scribed from  the  records  of  the  Capitol  the  following  curious 
certificate  :  ''  I,  Scipio  de  Manfredis,  knight,  doctor  of  arts 
and  medicine,  head  physician  of  Rome  and  of  the  universe, 
commissioner  of  the  Apostolic  See  in  these  matters,  deliver 
hereby  the  following  diploma  M.  D. :  Whereas  the  excel- 
lent and  most  learned  master  Michael  de  Zamora,  a  Hebrew 
residing  in  Rome,  has  given  us  evidence  of  the  long  vigils 
and  of  the  long  studies  made  to  learn  the  healing  art  in 
various  universities,  and  having  applied  for  his  diploma, 
after  a  successful  examination,  I  therefore,   .   .   .  etc.,  etc." 


8()  i.iri-:  i.\   THE  crrv 

'J'lu'  |niiui'  ol"  tlu'  .lowish  hk'(Ir-u1  school  in  Kome  was  tlie 
ial)l)i  SainiK'l  Sarfati,  who  hecanie  poiitilical  archiater  in  the 
tmif  of  .1  uliiis  1 1. 

\\  f  must  not  think  that  in  the  niajoritx  of  cases  the 
jH'actici'  of  nu'dirine  was  particnhuly  remunerative.  The 
pliysieian  who  attended  to  the  wants  of  a  girl  named  Anna 
Parisi  during  the  eight  weeks  of  her  ilhiess  received  for  his 
fee  iive  earhni  (oi  ahout  thuty-live  cents).  In  manv  cases 
the  cure  was  not  inidcrtakcii  unh'ss  the  remuneration  liad 
heen  (hdy  agreetl  upon  and  specified  in  a  legal  contract.  One 
of  tliese  interesting  documents,  a  copy  of  which  I  have  in 
my  [)ossession,  relates  how,  in  the  year  1518,  the  noble 
lady  Paolina  Portia  de  Mutis,  suffering  from  an  internal 
complaint,  entrusted  herself  to  the  care  of  the  Franciscan 
monk.  Gregorio  Caravita,  of  Avhom  I  have  spoken  above  as 
the  inventor  of  a  miraculous  oil  for  curing  the  plague.  The 
sti})ulations  were  as  follows  :  Should  the  cure  prove  success- 
ful, and  the  success  be  certified  by  experts,  the  venerable 
monk  was  to  receive  a  remuneration  of  two  hundred  gold 
pieces,  besides  the  twenty  advanced  to  him  for  the  purchase 
and  compounding  of  drugs.  Should  he  fail,  or  should  the 
lady  die,  the  monk  was  bound  to  give  back  to  the  family  even 
the  money  spent  for  medicines.  He  must  have  failed  in  his 
attempt,  because  I  find  the  same  lady  —  who  must  have  been 
gifted  with  a  wonderful  constitution,  as  well  as  with  a  will 
of  iron  —  (piarrelling  with  another  physician  before  the 
protomedico,  and  for  the  same  cause.  This  unfortunate 
doctor,  named  V^incenzo,  having  had  enough  of  his  trouble- 
some patient,  gave  up  the  case  to  a  thii'd  party,  a  quack 
named  Agostino  da  Rocchetta. 

In  another  agreement  of  the  same  kind  and  period  (Jan- 
uary (3,  1520)  a  Sicilian  lady,  Madonna  Speranza,  promises 
five  gold  pieces  to  surgeon  Colimodo  in  case  he  should  deliver 


LIFE   IN   THE    CITY  87 

her  of  the  "morbus  galHcus."  I  may  quote  in  the  last  phice 
the  disappointing  experience  of  the  surgeon  Giovanni  de 
Romanis,  who,  having-  failed  to  restore  the  eyesight  of  one 
of  his  clients,  is  condemned  bv  the  maofistrate  to  s^ive  back 
half  of  the  fee  of  six  ducats  already  received  (May  26, 
1523). 

One  cannot  glance  over  some  of  the  prescriptions  in 
favor  at  the  beginning  of  the  sixteenth  century  without 
marvelling  at  the  soundness  of  constitutions  which  could 
successfully  withstand  such  treatment.  I  have  already 
related  in  "  Pagan  and  Christian  Rome,"  p.  29,  how  the 
French  Antonian  monks  in  charge  of  the  hospital  of  Sant' 
Andrea  all'  Esquilino  had  secured  a  comfortable  income 
by  selling  pills  for  the  ague,  made  of  the  glutinous  sub- 
stance which  held  in  their  place  the  marble  encrustations 
of  the  basilica  of  Junius  Bassus.  Other  favorite  pills  for 
headache  and  heartburn,  ''  used  by  cardinals  and  clerics 
of  the  Curia,"  Avere  compounded  of  sagapen,  scammonea 
boiled  in  the  juice  of  quinces,  coloquint,  and  salt.  A  rem- 
edy warranted  to  cure  hernia  "  in  thirty-five  days  without 
any  surgical  operation  "  was  composed  of  chips  of  aloe, 
agallochum  boiled  in  vinegar,  lard,  dragon's  blood,  incense, 
and  glue  ! 

The  perusal  of  several  contracts  passed  between  certain 
courts  of  Italy  and  their  respective  apothecaries  for  the 
supply  of  medicines  and  drugs,  the  prices  of  which  were  duly 
specified,  makes  it  quite  evident  that  the  trade  was  not  a 
remunerative  one,  unless  the  chemist  undertook  at  the 
same  time  the  sale  of  other  articles  which  had  nothing  in 
common  with  the  healing  art.  Such  were  writing  or  wrap- 
ping paper,  ink  and  varnish,  confectionery,  spices  from 
India  and  the  far  East,  pearls  and  precious  stones.  As  re- 
gards wax  and  sugar,  they  were  either  sold  in  their  natural 


8S  I.II1-:  IS   Tiir:  city 

state  or  luaiiipiilatt'd  in  various  j;iiis('s.  The  two  best 
iiiaiiuals  of  the  time,  tlie  "  Tliesaiirus  Aroniatarioriiin  "  and 
the  ''  Luini'n  Apotliecariornm,"  <;ive  us  full  directions  about 
whiteniui;'  or  (hciui;'  wax  ni  red.  g-i'cen.  or  Mack,  and  alioiit 
tlif  thirt\-onr  known  ways  of  uiaUing  sug'ar,  "  ad  faciendum 
fructus  et  aniuudia  onuiia  ex  zuecaro."  During;  the  few  days 
in  which  King-  Alfonso  1  of  Naples  entertained  at  Terraciua 
the  pontifical  legate  and  Nicolo  Piccinino,  the  court  apothe- 
caries supplied  to  the  royal  table  two  thousand  five  hundred 
and  ninetv-one  pounds  of  sugar  in  the  shape  of  birds  and 
other  animals,  b()id)ons  and  deheacies,  to  the  vahie  of  four 
hundred  and  twenty-four  ducats.  In  Rome  itself  it  found 
a  suitable  market,  for  the  confection  of  the  Agnus  Dei,  of 
which  thousands  were  sold  to  the  pilgrims,  or  sent  abroad 
as  articles  of  devotion.  The  Diarist  of  Leo  X,  Paride  de' 
Grassi,  says  that  on  April  27,  1519,  the  Pope  blessed  not 
less  than  twenty  cases  of  "  Ag-nus  Dei "  which  had  been 
manufactured  by  the  court  apothecary.  I  must  remark,  in  the 
last  i)lace.  that  rice  is  registered  in  these  documents,  if  not 
as  an  actual  medicine,  at  least  as  a  rather  uncommon  food. 

One  of  the  most  curious  documents  on  this  special  chapter 
of  public  and  private  life  in  Italy  in  the  first  quarter  of  the 
sixteenth  century  is  a  contract  signed  on  February  23,  1424, 
between  Giacomo  Arrivabene,  apothecary,  and  the  repre- 
sentatives of  the  court  of  Ferrara,  for  the  supply  of  medicines 
for  the  space  of  two  years.  The  drug's  registered  are  but  17(3, 
which  represents  the  ])harmaco})(eia  of  the  aristocracy,  in 
comparison  with  the  2056  popular  i)rescriptions,  contained 
in  the  "  Antidotarium  "  of  Nicholas  Mireps,  the  celebrated 
specialist  from  Alexandria  and  c(nnt  physician  to  the  Em- 
peror Johannes. 

It  is  also  satisfactory  to  see  that  not  one  of  the  horrid 
substances  "  ex  liomine  desumpta,"  to  secure  possession  of 


LIFE   IX   THE    CITY 


89 


A  mediijeval  house  left  standing  opposite  the  church  of  Santa  Cecilia,  in  Trastevere 


which  many  human  lives  were  sacrificed  in  the  middle  ages, 
is  mentioned  either  in  the  Ferrara  or  in  other  Roman  docu- 
ments which  I  have  happened  to  consult. 

The  same  reasons  which  prompted  the  druggists  to  extend 
their  trade  in  the  way  just  described  must  have  induced 
perfumers  to  dabble  in  chemistry.  In  the  inventory  of  a 
perfumer's  shop  in  the  Via  della  Croce,  made  on  Novem- 
ber 25,  1555,  we  find,  besides  the  tools  of  the  trade,  glass, 
maiolica,  soaps,  gloves,  mirrors,  chaplets,  etc.,  and  the  fol- 
lowing medical  substances  :  laudanum,  benzoin,  storax,  sub- 
limate oil  of  lentisk,  and  white  of  Venice.  Barbers  were  also 
called  in  to  perform  certain  simple  surgical  operations,  such 
as  the  drawing  of  blood,  massage,  etc.  This  class  of  trades- 
men were  evidently  held  in  great  estimation.  There  used  to 
be  in  the  church  of  Sant'  Ao-ostino  a  tombstone  inscribed 


00  LIFE    ly    THE    CITY 

as  follows  :  "  To  tlio  memorv  of  Joan  Ivobert,  most  ex(|uisite 
})t'riunu>r.  As  he  clistinj^iiished  liiniself  in  his  litctiiuc  hy 
clistillini;'  iiiarvellouslv  sceiitiHl  ])erfiiines,  so  he  now  iiiids 
hmiselt  in  llic  t'lill  frinjruncii  of  a  blessed  life.  Died  on 
,Inl\    1."),  1.")  l;i,  jioed  .">,")." 

Another  cause  of  the  insaluhiity  of  niedia'val  Rome  is  to 
be  found  in  the  inundations  of  the  Tiber,  which  three  or 
four  times  a  year  invaded  the  low-lying  districts,  —  the 
Pantheon,  the  ( 'ontrada  della  \'alle,  the  Contrada  dell'  Orso, 
the  Boeca  della  Verita,  the  Kipetta,  and  the  Ghetto,  —  while 
three  or  four  times  in  a  century  they  extended  over  the 
whole  area  of  the  inhabited  citv.'  The  Romans  took  refuji'e 
on  these  occasions  on  the  nearest  height  at  hand,  such  as 
the  Monte  Giordano,  formed  by  the  remains  of  the  amphi- 
theatruni  Statilianum,  the  Monte  Savello  or  the  Monte  de' 
Cenci,  formed  by  the  remains  of  the  theatres  of  Marcelhis 
and  Balbus,  the  Monte  Citorio  (origin  uid^nown),  and  waited 
in  stolid  patience  for  the  subsiding'  of  the  waters,  which  took 
place  generally  at  the  end  of  the  third  day.  Considering 
that  the  average  yearly  volume  of  mud  and  sand  carried 
down  by  the  river  amounts  to  eight  and  a  half  million  tons, 
corresponding  to  one  hundred  millions  of  cubic  feet,  it  is 
easy  to  imagine  in  what  condition  streets  and  dwellings  must 
have  been  left  by  the  receding  flood.  There  is  actually  an 
old  lane  in  Rome  called  Leccosa,  because,  owing  to  its  low 
level  and  proximity  to  the  river,  it  was  permanently  covered 
with  "lecco''  or  silt.  Another  street,  destroyed  in  1887, 
bore  the  name  of  Fiumara,  from  its  being  transformed  into 
a  river  at  each  freshet  of  the  Tiber.    Rain,  cold,  and  hunger 

'  Tlie  section  of  tlie  city  iiiliabiti'd  in  tlie  funrteentli  and  fiftecntli  centuries 
embraced  the  plain  of  the  Campus  Martins,  between  tlie  Corso,  the  Snbnra,  and 
the  Tiber,  and  also  part  of  the  Trastevere.  The  average  level  of  these  cpiar- 
ters  was  at  that  time  fourteen  metres  above  the  level  of  the  sea,  while  the  floods 
reached  sometimes  the  lieijiht  of  nineteen  metres. 


O      -r 


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LIFE   IN   THE    CITY  93 

forced  the  crowd  to  seek  the  sheher  of  their  dwellings  as 
soon  as  it  was  possible  to  reenter  them,  and  here  we  find 
them  living  for  a  time  in  rooms  reeking  with  damp,  over 
cellars  filled  with  foul-smelHng  mud,  and  amid  orchards  and 
gardens  transformed  into  pools  of  sluggish  water.  No  won- 
der that  the  "Liber  Pontificalis,"  like  the  historians  and 
annalists  of  a  later  age,  never  mentions  the  occurrence  of 
a  flood  without  expatiating  at  the  same  time  on  its  trail 
of  misery,  famine,  ophthalmia,  pernicious  fevers,  ague,  and 
plague. 

From  the  point  of  view  of  actual  loss  of  life,  the  inun- 
dations of  the  Tiber  must  be  divided  into  two  periods.  In 
the  first  period  we  hear  of  a  sudden  inrush  of  water  which 
caught  the  people  almost  unawares  and  left  them  no  time 
to  seek  a  place  of  shelter  in  higher  lands,  as  if  the  outburst 
had  been  caused  by  the  breaking  away  of  an  obstacle, 
whether  a  levee,  an  embankment,  or  a  wall.  These  appalling 
contingencies  are  described  by  the  ''  Liber  Pontificalis  "  v/ith 
the  following  stereotyped  formula  :  On  such  an  hour,  on 
such  a  day  of  such  a  year  —  for  instance  liora  diei  x  for  the 
inundation  of  October  30,  a.d.  860  —  the  waters  broke 
through  the  postern  of  St.  Agatha  or  St.  Martin,  and  rush- 
ing over  the  waste  fields  of  the  Campus  Martius  entered  the 
Via  Flaminia  (the  modern  Corso),  to  strike  the  foot  of  the 
Capitoline  hill.  Pushed  back  by  this  obstacle,  they  followed 
the  Pallacinae  (Via  di  San  Marco  and  Via  delle  Botteghe 
Oscure),  to  fall  back  into  their  proper  channel  somewhere 
near  the  ^Emilian  bridge. 

It  is  not  difficult  to  explain  the  occurrence.  Rome  in 
those  days  was  still  protected  on  the  river  side  by  the  walls 
of  Honorius,  which  followed  the  left  bank  from  the  present 
Ponte  Margherita  to  the  Ponte  Sisto.  There  were  only  three 
or  four  posterns  or  gaps  in  the  walls,  which  served  to  give 


IM  Lii'i-:  i.\  Till-:  CITY 

lU'i'oss  to  till'  •'  tr;iL;li(t  1 1  "  or  IV'nit's,  or  to  tlu'  mooring' stations 
along-  tlie  hank.  The  posterns  ot"  St.  Agatha  or  St.  Martin, 
the  nortluMiiniost  anil  the  most  exposed  of  all,  were  })robably 
walleil  nj)  or  harrii-ailed  at  the  lirst  warning  of  danger,  but 
the  temporary  ol)stiiietion  must  have  gixen  way  under  the 
enormous  strain  of  the  swollen  riyer  rusiiing  at  the  rate  of 
many  miles  an  hour. 

In  later  times,  namely  after  the  downfall  of  the  Ilono- 
rian  wall,  we  hear  no  nu)re  of  sudden  inrushes,  but  only  of 
a  gentle  steady  rising  of  the  waters,  whieh  spread  over  the 
lower  (juarters,  giving  time  to  the  citizens  to  save  their  lives 
and  their  valuables. 

The  Avorst  fatalities  that  occurred  within  the  period  to 
which  my  work  refers  are  those  of  December,  l-i95,  October, 
1530,  September,  lo.")?.  and  December,  1598.  The  height 
reached  by  the  water  on  these  occasions  (IG. 88  metres  in 
the  first,  18.95  in  the  second  and  third,  19.56  in  the  last)  is 
still  marked  all  over  the  city  by  commemorative  tablets. 
There  were  originally  two  special  places  selected  for  the 
registration  of  such  events,  —  the  palace  of  Cardinal  Caetani 
in  the  Via  di  Tordinona  and  the  fayade  of  Santa  Maria  Sopra 
Minerva.  The  Palazzo  Caetani  no  longer  exists,^  but  the 
front  of  the  church  is  still  covered  Avitli  the  records  ^of 
floods,  of  which  I  quote  one  instance  :  "  In  the  year  of  our 
Lord  one  thousand  five  hundred  and  thirtv,  the  seventh  of 
the  pontificate  of  Pope  Clement  VII.  on  the  eighth  day 
of  October,  the  flood  reached  this  line,  and  the  whole  city 
woidd  have  perished  if  the  Blessed  Virgin  had  not  made  the 
waters  recede." 

^  Its  site  is  indicated  l)y  tlie  name  of  tlie  street  on  wliieh  it  stood,  Via  deW 
Area  di  Parma,  a  name  derived  from  tliat  of  Cardinale  di  Parma.  It  came  into 
the  hands  of  the  Caetani  at  the  time  of  Hadrian  VI  and  was  sold  by  them  to 
the  Celestinian  Fathers  of  Sant'  Eiisebio  in  tlie  year  1027. 


LIFE   IN  THE   CITY 


95 


The  flood  of  1598,  the  highest  recorded  in  history,  began 
on  Christmas  eve.  At  noon  of  the  following  day  there  were 
twenty-one  feet  of  water  in  the  Via  di  Ripetta,  twenty-two 
at  the  Pantheon,  seventeen  at  the  Piazza  Navona,  fifteen 
on  the  Corso  by  San  Lorenzo  in  Lucina.  A  barge  went 
ashore  in  the  Piazza  della  Trinita,  since  called  di  Spagna, 


'i'liL-  iiHindation  of  I'JUO  as  seen  in  the  Piazza  del  Pantheon 

where  the  fountain  of  the  Barcaccia  was  erected  at  a  later 
period  to  commemorate  the  event.  Two  arches  of  the  ^Emi- 
lian  bridge  were  overthrown  at  3  p.  m.  on  the  24th,  a  few 
seconds  after  Cardinal  Pietro  Aldobrandini  had  crossed  it 
to  rescue  some  families  surrounded  by  the  foaming  waters. 
Houses  were  washed  away  by  the  hundred,  seven  hundred 
persons  were  drowned  in  the  city,  and  eight  hundred  in  the 
suburbs,  besides  thousands  of  cattle.  As  usual,  famine  and 
pestilence  followed  the  flood. 

The  tablets  jnit  up  on  this  occasion  on  the  side  wall  of 
the  church  of  San  Giovannino,  on  the  front  of  the  Crescenzi- 
Serlupi  palace,  on  the  castle  of  Sant'  Angelo,  etc.,  have  all 


9()  7. //••/■;  /x  Tin-:  city 

perisluMl  l)ut  two.  Tlie  first  is  to  be  seen  in  the  Piazza  Giudea 
behiiitl  the  chmcli  of  the  Madonna  del  Pianto  ;  tlie  second, 
in  the  front  wall  of  la  Minerva  near  the  door  on  the  right. 
The  reader  niav  ask  at  this  i)oint  of  my  narrative.  How 
could  iieojde  live  and  prosper  in  a  city  exposed  to  so  many 
deadly  j)eril.s,  and  liow  could  the  same  city  continue  to  attract 
newcomers  from  every  part  of  Italy  and  from  every  Chris- 
tian nation  beyond  the  Alj)s,  so  that  towards  the  end  of 
the  reign  of  Leo  X  the  ''  Komani  di  Roma  "  formed  but  the 
minority  of  the  popnlation  within  the  walls?  There  is  no 
doubt  that  the  hnman  constitution  was  stronger  then  than 
now  ;  the  refinements  of  civilization  had  not  drained  or 
debased  the  vitality  of  men  ;  they  conld  stand  more  physical 
strain  and  better  resist  contagion  or  disease.  It  is  my  belief, 
for  instance,  that  if  the  banquet  given  on  the  Capitoline 
hill,  on  September  13  of  the  year  1513,  to  Giuliano  de' 
Medici,  to  celebrate  his  c()i')ptation  into  the  Roman  patri- 
ciate, had  taken  place  in  the  present  century,  it  might  have 
occasioned  a  pnblic  calamity.  The  description  of  the  appall- 
ing feast  was  discovered  in  the  Barberini  library,  and  pub- 
lished by  Pasqualucci  in  1881.'  A  stand  had  been  erected 
for  the  occasion  in  front  of  the  Conservatori  palace,  adorned 
with  six  large  pictures  painted  by  "  excellenti  pictori,"  among 
which,  one,  forty-two  feet  high,  by  Baldassarre  Peruzzi,  re- 
presented the  deeds  of  Tarpeia,  the  traitor.  The  same  artist 
had  designed  the  scenes  for  the  wooden  stage  upon  which 
the  comedies  were  to  be  enacted.  Giovanni  Giorgio  Cesa- 
rini,  the  standard-bearer  or  gonfaloniere  of  the  S.  P.  Q.  R., 
had  planned  every  detail  of  the  ceremony  on  a  grand  scale, 
and  the  ])oor  Giidiano  de'  Medici,  a  prince  of  retiring  dis- 
position, had  to  undergo  the  following  ordeal  during  the 

^  fibdiano  de"  Medici  eletto  cittadino  Romano  nel  1513  .  .   .  relazione  inedita 
di  M.  Ant.  Altieri  con  prefazione  e  note  di  Loreto  Pasqualucci.    Rome,  1881. 


LIFE  IN  THE   CITY 


97 


three  days  that  the  reception  lasted :  a  cavalcade  in  state ; 
addresses  of  welcome  from  the  senators,  the  conservatori, 
the  delegates  from  the  thirteen  wards  of  the  city,  and  other 


IVLIANVS  MED' 

LAVKENTU  t 

^^^» 

»^ 

MIL^s^  ^         ^^^B 

^^^I^B^^^^^^B         '^^^ 

l^k     w 

!|ShH^||^;           ' '  ^ 

'  ■  ^.^B^^^J^^^K 

..  ■■1^ 

-v&jv.  •.-.'■;  .^^' 

i 

d^'' 

XD. 

"';';^^^^r^ 

The  portrait  of  Giuliaao  de'  Medici,  son  of  Lorenzo,  by  Brouzino,  in  the 
Galleria  degli  Uifizi 

officials ;  a  high  mass  sung  in  the  church  of  the  Aracoeli ; 
an  interminable  oration  by  the  speaker  of  the  day,  Lorenzo 
Vallati ;  the  verbal  exposition  of  all  the  privileges  conferred 
on  the  candidate  bv  the  S.  P.  Q.  R. ;  the  recital  of  poetical 


08  Lirh:  jx  the  city 

('()in|i()siti()iis  with  iiitciuic/./.os  of  choirs  and  soii^s  ;  appa- 
ritions of  niythoh>nical  pt'i-soniiges  ;  recitals  of  eclogues  and 
hncolics  ;  theatrical  performances,  such  as  the  recitation  of 
the  ••  Pocnnlus"  of  Plautus  ;  and,  last  of  all,  a  banquet,  the 
nuMiu  of  which  —  as  given  in  the  memoirs  of  Marco  Anto- 
nio Altieri,  one  of  the  fortv-four  guests  who  survived  the 
ordeal  —  occupies  four  and  a  half  sheets  of  fine  })rint. 

The  hanquet  opened  with  three  courses  of  "-innauti  pasti," 
or  entrees,  which  included  })astrv  of  pine  nuts  and  sugar, 
Itiscuits,  sweet  wine  and  whipped  cream,  prunes,  heccaficos, 
(piails.  (h)ves,  and  Eastern  sweetmeats.  Then  followed  eighty 
courses  with  fourteen  varieties  of  birds,  five  of  venison,  five 
of  meat,  twenty-two  of  pastry,  and  sundry  other  delicacies  in 
the  line  of  fruit  and  vegetables.  And  while  the  guests  were 
partaking  of  the  heroic  meal,  the  spectators  and  the  crowd 
at  large  were  continually  exploding  guns,  mortars,  and  light 
l)ieces  of  artillery,  beating  drums,  and  blowing  trumpets. 

No  less  curious  are  the  particulars  of  the  feast  offered  to 
Eleonora  d'  Aragona  on  the  occasion  of  her  visit  to  Rome, 
mentioned  in  the  preceding  chapter.  Although  the  guests 
were  only  seven  at  the  first  table  and  three  at  the  second, 
fifty  courses  were  offered  to  them,  some  of  the  silver  dishes 
c(jntaining  a  whole  stag,  a  whole  bear,  or  else  two  stur- 
geons each  five  feet  long.  Certain  combinations  of  food 
sound  incredible  to  our  modern  tastes,  but  Cardinal  di  San 
Sisto's  butler  was  bent  on  ])Ieasing  the  eye  in  preference 
to  the  ])alate.  The  bread,  for  instance,  was  gilded  ;  there 
were  dishes  representing  Atalanta  and  ni})pomene,  Perseus 
rescuing  Andromeda,  Ceres  on  a  chariot  drawn  by  four  tigers, 
and  Orpheus  playing  on  the  lyre  amidst  a  flock  of  peacocks 
in  the  full  splendor  of  their  plumage.  The  last  piece  repre- 
sented a  mountain,  from  the  bowels  of  which  a  poet  emerged, 
who  recited  an  appropriate  set  of  verses. 


LIFE   IN   THE    CITY  99 

Pauperism  in  its  inaiiifokl  and  hideous  manifestations 
had  become  a  flourishing  industry  in  Rome  since  the  insti- 
tution of  the  Jubilees.  In  the  oldest  documents  concernin"" 
the  topog'raphy  of  the  Vatican  the  present  church  of  Santa 
Maria  in  Campo  Santo  is  called  "  Eleemosyna,"  because  within 
its  walls  thirteen  beggars  were  entertained  at  dinner  daily, 
and  two  thousand  were  given  food  and  drink  on  Mondays 
and  Fridays.  It  was  customary  in  those  days  for  every 
citizen  makino"  his  will  to  leave  a  certain  amount  to  be 
distributed  among  the  indigent  of  the  parish.  Some  of  the 
formulas  used  in  these  documents  are  rather  touching  ;  for 
instance :  "  October  22,  1368,  I,  Meo  Ubere,  of  the  region 
of  the  Pigna,  call  three  poor  of  Christ  to  be  my  heirs,  regret- 
ting that  my  own  poverty  does  not  allow  me  to  leave  them 
more  than  five  soldi  provisini  each."  The  custom  still 
exists  amono-  us,  and  no  oood  Roman  dictates  his  last 
wishes  to  the  notary  without  leaving  a  few  lire  to  the  hos- 
pital of  Santo  Spirito. 

Pope  Pius  IV  in  1561  ordered  the  Town  Council  to  pro- 
vide workhouses  for  the  destitute,  it  being  his  wish  that 
the  sorry  and  revolting  sight  of  thousands  of  dirty  beggars 
harassing  the  citizens  in  the  streets  should  be  stopped  at 
once.  On  the  receipt  of  this  missive  a  committee  of  noble- 
men was  elected  to  carry  the  Pope's  order  into  execution, 
but,  as  far  as  I  know^,  the  committee  never  met.  The  only 
step  taken  on  this  occasion  was  that  each  caporione,  or  chief 
magistrate  of  one  of  the  thirteen  wards  of  the  city,  fol- 
lowed by  a  town  councillor,  went  through  his  district  once 
a  month,  with  an  almsbox  in  his  hands,  begging  for  the 
poor. 

Workhouses  were  eventually  established  towards  the  end 
of  the  sixteenth  century,  which,  however,  were  meant  to 
meet  the  emergencies  of  the  moment  rather  than  to  be  perma- 


loo  /.//■•/•;  /.v   /•///•;  ci'J'Y 

neut  in.stitiitions.  'riius  1  liml  that  in  \7)\Y1  tliu  beggars  of 
tlie  Rioiie  Coloima  had  been  crowded  into  the  house  of  the 
hite  Bcirtoh)nuM)  Papa,  iukKt  tlic  earc  of  tlie  Fatebenefra- 
telli.  To  Sixtns  V  l)elonsis  the  honor  of  havinii*  established 
the  first  workhouse  in  the  modern  sense  of  the  word.  It 
oeeupied  the  large  building  known  as  the  '*  Casa  del  Cento 
Preti,"  at  the  cistiberine  end  of  the  Ponte  Sisto.  It  was  in- 
tended to  give  shelter  to  destitute  but  healthy  citizens, 
those  afflicted  with  contagious  diseases  being  sent  to  the 
Porta  Angelica  and  those  who  were  suffering  with  incur- 
able ones  to  S.  Giacomo  in  Augusta.  A  special  class  was 
allowed  to  beg  in  the  streets,  provided  they  had  given 
satisf actor V  answers  to  the  following  questions  :  "  Do  you 
know  the  Pater,  Ave,  and  Credo  ?  Who  was  your  last  con- 
fessor, and  where  does  he  live  ?  Do  you  know  the  articles 
of  the  Christian  doctrine?"  etc.  At  a  later  i)eriod  the 
beautiful  palace  of  the  Lateran,  the  official  residence  of 
the  Bishop  of  Rome,  the  great  memorial  of  Sixtus  V  and 
Domenico  Fontana,  was  turned  into  a  hospice.  How^ever, 
as  the  Roman  beggars  have  never  changed  their  nature, 
preferring  freedom  of  movement  even  to  the  regal  hospi- 
tality of  the  Lateran,  they  found  a  way  of  breaking  their 
Ixinds.  so  that  Monsignor  Berlingerio  Gypsio,  governor  of 
the  city,  was  obliged  to  issue  a  proclamation  against  the 
fugitives,  ordering  their  recapture  on  account  of  the  many 
crimes  and  scandals  which  they  had  })erpetrated. 

This,  then,  was  the  condition  of  the  city  when  its  inhab- 
itants welcomed  the  election  of  the  old  Cardinal  Alessandro 
Farnese  to  the  chair  of  St.  Peter  as  a  true  godsend,  in  the 
firm  l)elief  that  his  advent  would  put  an  end  to  the  material 
and  moral  disadvantages  under  which  they  had  labored  for 
centuries.  The  fulfilment  of  these  anticipations  will  be  de- 
scribed in  the  following  chapters. 


CHAPTER   III 

PAUL  III 

The  triumphal  entry  of  the  Emperor  Charles  V  on  April  5 
o£  the  year  153G  marks  the  turning'-point  in  the  destiny  of 
the  city,  and  the  besfinnino-  of  its  transformation  into  a 
modern  capital,  because  the  works  of  improvement,  accom- 
plished in  haste  in  the  weeks  preceding  the  arrival  of  the 
imperial  guest,  met  with  such  welcome  on  the  part  of  the 
people  and  were  obviously  so  beneficial  to  their  health  and 
comfort  and  general  well-being,  that  they  were  continued 
long  after  their  actual  origin  and  cause  had  faded  from  the 
memory  of  the  living.  The  merit  of  this  transformation 
belongs  to  two  men  alone,  —  to  Pope  Paul  III,  Alessandro 
Farnese,  and  his  genial  adviser,  Latino  Giovenale  Mannetti. 
Alessandro,  born  on  February  28,  1468,  of  Pier  Luigi  Far- 
nese and  Giovannella  Caetani,  Avas  promoted  to  the  cardinal- 
ship  when  only  twenty-five  years  old,  thanks  to  the  influence 
that  his  sister  Giulia,  the  "  bellissima,"  had  gained  over  the 
reigning  Pope  Alexander  VI.  His  first  thought  after  re- 
ceiving the  red  hat  was  to  secure  a  suitable  residence,  and 
he  found  it  in  the  house  once  inhabited  by  the  Spanish  car- 
dinal, Pedro  Ferriz,  which  had  passed  into  the  hands  of  the 
Augustinian  monks  of  Santa  Maria  del  Popolo.  The  pro- 
perty consisted  of  a  house  facing  the  "major  via  Arenulae"^ 
and  of  two  gardens  reaching  down  to  the  river,  on  the  bank 
of  which  stood  one  of  the  towers  of  the  old  Honorian  walls. 
The  Via  Giulia,  which  now  separates  the  palace  from  the 

1  The  present  thoroughfare  Capodiferro-Venti-Farnese-Monserrato. 


102 


I'ML    111 


river,  had  not  yot  been  opened  l)v  tlie  P()])e  wliose  name  it 
bears  ;  nor  liad  tlie  present  Piazza  Farnese  l)roui»lit  air,  light, 
and  liealth  into  the   hind    hlocks  of  hovels  \vhieh  oeenpied 


The  "  bellissinia '"  Giiilia  Farnese.  sister  of  Pope  Paul   ill.     From  the  alle- 
gorical statue  by  Guglielnio  della  Porta,  in  .St.  Peter's 

the  space  between  the  palace  and  the  Canipo  de'  Fiori.^  For 
the  si)ace  of  twenty  years  the  young  dignitary  of  the  Church 
showed  no  particular  ambition  for  improving  the  old  palace, 
perhaps  on  account  of  his  constant  wanderings  to  Monte 

1  The  Campo  de'  Fiori,  upon  which  cattle  were  still  grazing  at  the  time  of 
Martin  V,  was  levelled  and  paved  by  Cardinal  Ludovico  Scaranipo  in  1452. 


PAUL   III  103 

Fiascone  and  Viterbo,  where  he  met  in  1499  Kmg  Charles 
VIII  of  France ;  to  Bertinoro,  Venice,  Parma,  Valva,  Siil- 
niona,  St.  Pons,  and  Benevento,  of  which  dioceses  he  was 
named  bishop  successively  by  Julius  II  and  Leo  X;  and  to 
the  Marca  di  Ancona,  which  he  governed  as  legate  from 
1501  to  1507.  Having  won  the  favor  of  Leo  X,  whom 
he  had  crowned  with  his  own  hands,  and  having  settled  in 
Rome  as  cardinal  titular  of  Sant'  Eustachio  and  bishop  of 
Frascati,  he  undertook  to  transform  the  old  Ferriz  palace 
into  a  residence  worthy  of  the  great  name  of  the  Farnese, 
for  which  purpose  leave  was  given  to  him  by  the  Apostolic 
Chamber  to  la)'  hands  on  and  despoil  of  their  marbles  and 
columns  the  half-ruined  chapels,  cloisters,  and  porticoes  by 
Avhich  the  church  of  San  Lorenzo  fuori  le  Mura  was  then 
surrounded. 

The  importance  of  this  grant  of  building  and  decorative 
materials  may  be  gathered  from  the  fact  that,  to  save  the 
treasures  within  the  monumental  group  of  San  Lorenzo 
from  hostile  invasions  (such  as  the  Saracenic  of  846,  the 
Teutonic  of  1111,  etc.),  a  battlemented  wall  had  been 
raised  round  it,  and  the  whole  group  transformed  into  an 
outlying  fortress,  under  the  (probable)  name  of  Laurenti- 
opolis.  At  the  time  of  Cardinal  Farnese  the  wall  had  col- 
lapsed for  half  its  length,  as  shown  by  a  sketch  of  Martin 
Heemskerk,  now  in  the  Kunstgewerbe  Museum  at  Berlin  ;  ^ 
but  the  buildings  within,  although  roofless  and  tenantless, 
had  not  yet  been  deprived  of  their  wealth  of  marbles.  These 
were  the  church  of  St.  Agapetus  ;  the  cubicle  or  oratory  of 
SS.  Abundius  and  Irenseus,  whose  grave  was  marked  by  a 
metrical  epitaph  composed  by  Pope  Damasus  and  engraved 
by  Philocalus ;    the  chapel  of   St.  Stephen  ;    a  hospice  for 

1  A  reproduction  of  tliis  sketch  is  given  in  Rums  and  Excavaiions  of  Ancient 
Rome,  p.  85,  fig.  3j. 


104  FA//.  HI 

])ili;riins,  a  cliaptcr-house  Jiiul  monastery,  and  maiiy  slirincs, 
fountains,  hatliini;-  [)on(ls,  etc.  We  do  not  know  precisely 
tlie  ([uantity  and  nature  ol"  the  plunder  collected  from  Lau- 
reiitiojxtlis  l)y  the  masons  of  Cardinal  Farnese  ;  but,  judging 
from  other  discoveries  made  in  the  neigiihorhood  on  subse- 
(pient  occasions,  the  first  comers  must  have  had  the  lion's 
share.  They  came  across  a  wall  built  of  pieces  of  statuary, 
among  which  were  eighteen  or  twenty  portrait  heads  of  em- 
perors, which  must  be  considered  the  nucleus  of  the  famous 
Museo  Farnesiano.  Flaminio  Vacca,  to  whom  we  owe  the 
information,  speaks  also  of  the  finding  of  an  epitaph  to  a 
mule  so  devoted  to  its  master  that  it  would  kneel  before  him 
to  spare  him  the  fatigue  of  mounting. 

If  we  may  believe  a  vague  statement  of  Benedetto  Mel- 
lini.'  the  agents  of  the  cardinal  did  not  hesitate  to  attack 
even  the  graves  of  the  martyrs.  He  speaks  of  the  finding 
of  the  remains  of  St.  Hip})()lytus  and  other  saints  in  a  crypt 
adjoining  the  basilica,  and  quotes  as  authority  Fra  Angelico 
da  Bologna,  prior  of  the  monastery,  who  saw  the  "holy 
bodies  lying  on  the  floor  as  in  a  circle,  with  their  heads  rest- 
ing on  a  stone." 

Other  records  of  the  time  of  Alexander  VII  ( 1655-1067) 
show  the  wealth  of  these  ruins  to  have  been  almost  inex- 
haustible. "On  the  right  side  of  the  court  of  San  Lorenzo, 
Avhere  a  new  vineyard  has  just  been  planted.  Pope  Chigi 
caused  the  remains  of  the  church  of  San  Romano  to  be 
searched.  Several  beautiful  columns  of  rerde  antico  and 
marble  and  travertine  in  great  quantities  were  the  reward  of 
his  labors."  -  The  columns  of  verrJe  (intlco  can  be  seen  at 
the  }>resent  day,  two  in  the  Ginnetti  chapel  at  Sant'  Andrea 

'  The  author  of  the   volume   on   the   Oratory  of  St.  Lawrence  ad  Saneta 
Sanctorum,  printed  in  1006. 

*  Memorie  di  Pietro  Sante  Barloli,  published  by  Fea  in  171K),  n.  137,  p.  *2G1. 


< 

o 


o  ; 

OC      o 

z; 


PAUL   III  107 

della  Valle,  the  other  in  the  Chigi  chapel  in  the  Duomo  di 
Siena. 

Cardinal  Alessandro  resided  in  the  old  palace  until  the 
sack  of  1527,  keeping  a  princely  court  of  liis  own.  In  the 
census  taken  by  order  of  Clement  VII  a  few  months  before 
that  dire  event,  the  results  of  which  were  made  known 
in  189-1  by  Domenico  Gnoli,^  the  cardinal  ranks  next  to 
the  Pope,  and  above  all  his  colleagues  of  the  sacred  college 
as  reo-ards  the  number  of  his  courtiers  and  servants.  To 
the  Pope  are  assigned  seven  hundred  "bocche"  or  mouths 
feeding  at  his  expense  ;  to  the  cardinals  the  following  num- 
bers :  Farnese,  306  ;  Cesarini,  275  ;  Orsini,  200  ;  del  Monte, 
200  ;  Cybo,  192  ;  Pucci,  190  ;  Ridolfi,  180  ;  Piccolomini, 
180  ;  de  Cupis,  150  ;  Rangoni,  150  ;  Campeggi,  130  ;  della 
Valle,  130  ;  Pisani,  130  ;  Armellini,  130  ;  Scaramuccia  Tri- 
vulzio,  103  ;  Accolti,  100  ;  Erkenfort,  100  ;  Jacobacci,  80  ; 
Cesi,  80 ;  Numalio,  60 ;  de  Vio,  4:5.  All  these  names  have 
become  famous  for  their  connection  with  the  sack  and 
massacres  of  1527.  We  know  that  only  thirteen  cardinals, 
Farnese  included,  shared  with  Clement  VII  the  shelter  of 
the  castle  of  Sant'  Angelo  ;  the  others  had  to  undergo  the 
most  atrocious  treatment  at  the  hands  of  the  Lansquenets. 
Exquisite  refinements  of  cruelty  were  devised  to  extort 
monev  from  them.  Numalio,  for  instance,  was  torn  from 
his  bed,  to  which  he  had  been  confined  for  a  time,  placed 
on  a  hearse,  and  dragged  through  the  burning  city  in  his 
robes  of  state.  "Drunken  soldiers  and  profligate  women 
surrounded  the  bier,  brandishing  torches  and  vociferating 
infamous  songs  in  imitation  of  priestly  canticles.  In  this 
guise  the  unfortunate  old  man  was  carried  into  the  church 
of  the  Aracoeli  and  lowered  into  a  crypt,  to  be  buried  alive 

1  Descriptio  Urhis  o  Censimento  della  popnlnzione  di  Roma  avanti  il  sacco 
Borbonico,  in  "Archivio  della  Society  di  Storia  Patria,"  vol.  xvii,  a.  1894. 


108  I'ACL    III 

unless  a  fresh  ransom  should  he  paid.  Friends  came  to  his 
rescue  at  tlie  hist  nu)nu'iit.  "  '  Anotlier  dignitary  of  the 
Chur(di,  tlie  ohl  Cardinal  Ponzetta,  whose  name  does  not 
ai)pear  in  the  <ensus,  was  seized  in  his  residence  on  the 
Via  Pa})ale,  near  San  Tommaso  in  Parione,  and,  although 
a  stanch  partisan  of  tlie  enii)eror,  was  held  for  a  ransom 
of  twenty  thousand  ducats.  Later  in  the  day  he  was  dragged 
by  a  rope  through  the  streets  of  the  city  with  his  hands 
tied  behind  his  back.  Ponzetta  died  soon  after  in  great 
destitution. 

It  is  difficult  to  understand,  even  in  our  day  of  enormous 
fortunes  and  display  of  luxury,  why  a  single  man  like  Car- 
dinal Alessandro  needed  to  be  attended  and  followed  by 
three  hundred  servants.  I  have  found  a  document  which 
throws  light  on  this  point ;  viz.,  a  list  of  servants  of  Car- 
dinal Alessandro  the  younger,  —  the  grandson  of  the  future 
Po})e  and  the  heir  of  his  wealth  and  liberal  spirit,  —  to  whom 
certain  arrears  of  salary  were  due  on  May  31,  151:4.  The 
list  includes  an  organist,  a  carpenter,  a  soprano,  a  game- 
keeper, an  "  ecuyer-tranchant,"  a  barber,  an  upholsterer, 
an  embroiderer,  a  saddler,  a  silk  weaver,  an  apothecary, 
a  weaver  of  silk  stockings,  a  stal)le-master,  a  bookkeeper,  a 
chief  cook,  an  under  cook,  a  pastry  cook,  an  amanuensis,  a 
master  of  page-boys,  a  singer,  a  master  of  counterbass, 
a  butler,  a  master  mason,  a  gardener,  and  so  forth.  We  do 
not  know  wdiat  became  of  the  Farnese  palace  and  its  three 
hundred  inmates  during  the  sack  :  the  palace  was  probably 
plundered,  the  servants  were  dispersed  or  held  for  ransom. 

The  loss  sustained  by  the  city  in  general  has  been  esti- 
mated by  Gregorovius  at  twenty  millions  of  florins,  — 
nearly  a  million  and  a  half  pounds  sterling,  or  seven  and 
a  half  million  dollars.   Thirteen  thousand  houses  were  burned 

^  See  Destruction  of  Ancient  Rome,  p.  220. 


PAUL   III  100 

or  pillaged,  and  thirty  thousand  inhabitants  lost  their  lives 
by  sword  or  fire,  by  exposure  or  hunger,  or  were  carried 
away  by  the  plague,  the  germs  of  which  had  been  spread 
by  the  invaders. 

No  wonder,  then,  that  the  election  of  Alessandro  Farnese, 
which  took  place  on  October  14,  1534,  should  have  been 
hailed  by  the  surviving  population  with  intense  satisfaction. 
For  the  space  of  one  hundred  and  four  years,  that  is  to  say, 
since  the  death  of  Martin  V,  Colonna,  no  Roman  had  sat 
on  the  chair  of  St.  Peter,  and  they  knew  that  only  a  Roman 
pope  would  be  able  to  heal  the  wounds  from  which  the  city 
was  still  bleeding.  They  saw  in  him  the  rising  star  which 
would  ouide  the  "  navicella  di  San  Pietro  "  to  calmer  and 
safer  waters.  The  enthusiasm  of  the  crowd  rose  to  such  a 
pitch  on  the  day  of  the  coronation  that  the  conservatori  and 
the  caporioni,  led  by  Ascanio  Colonna  and  other  young 
barons,  took  away  the  "  sedia  gestatoria  "  from  the  official 
bearers,  and,  in  spite  of  the  entreaties  of  the  master  of 
ceremonies,  carried  the  Pope  on  their  shoulders  into  the 
overcrowded  church. 

On  the  eve  of  October  29  another  demonstration  took 
place  in  the  Piazza  di  San  Pietro,  the  first  joyful  gathering 
since  the  black  days  of  the  sack.  The  conservatori  and  the 
noblemen,  riding  gaily  caparisoned  chargers,  headed  the 
pageant,  while  the  populace  lighted  their  progress  with 
torches  and  bonfires,  the  cavalcade  being  followed  by  three 
allegorical  cars  representing  the  triumphs  of  Rome,  of  the 
Church,  and  of  the  Faith.  Each  car  carried  a  contingent 
of  youths,  singing  canticles  of  joy,  or  reciting  verses  suited 
to  the  occasion.  On  reaching  St.  Peter's  the  Pope  showed 
himself  to  the  jubilant  multitudes  on  one  of  the  balconies, 
readv  to  listen  to  the  address  of  congratulation  read  by 
Girolamo  Capodiferro,  the  head  of  the  conservatori.    A  few 


110  iwri.   Ill 

(lavs  later  fifty  yoiiiii;-  patricians.  led  l>y  Ascaiiio  Colonnu, 
Ciiaii  Battista  Savelli,  and  Ginliano  Cosarini,  long'lit  a 
tonrnanicnt  in  the  Piazza  di  San  Pictro,  liurlini;'  at  each 
(»tlnT  l»alls  of  I)aki'd  (dav,  from  wliicli  tliev  tried  to  protect 
themselves  with  raised  shields.  The  real  tonrnament,  with 
lances  and  full  armor,  was  fon^ht  later  in  the  day  in  the 
Piazza  dei  Santi  A})()st()li.  One  cannot  read  the  account 
of  these  sin\])le  hut  heartfelt  demonstrations  of  welcome  to 
Paul  111  without  enu)tion,  considerini;-  the  ordeals  Kome 
had  i;-one  through  in  the  preceding  years.  I  am  pleased  to 
record,  at  the  outset,  that  the  bright  promises  of  the  new 
pontificate  were  more  than  fulfilled,  and  that  the  fifteen 
years  of  Paul  IIPs  rule  (October  1:3,  ir):3J:-November  10, 
b)4*,h  mark  one  of  the  happiest  periods  in  the  history  of 
the  city  and  the  beginning  of  its  transformation  into  a 
healthier  and  liner  capital.  Tlie  cause  for  this  change  was, 
as  1  stated  Ijefore,  the  triumphal  reception  tendered  to  the 
Emperor  Charles  V  on  iiis  return  from  the  Tunis  expedi- 
tion, ten  years  after  his  own  lieutenant,  the  Connetable  de 
Bonrbon,  had  intiicted  on  the  city  the  worst  punishment 
recorded  in  its  history. 

The  Pope's  legates  had  met  the  emperor  on  April  1,  153(), 
as  he  was  leaving  the  village  of  Sermoneta,  on  the  Pontine 
marshes.  On  the  third  day  he  was  the  guest  of  Ascanio 
Colonna  at  Marino.  On  Wednesday  the  4th  he  reached  the 
monasterv  of  St.  Paul  outside  the  Walls,  and  on  the  morninir 
of  the  following  day  rcxle  to  the  Porta  San  Sebastiano  by 
the  Via  delle  Sette  Chiese,  attended  by  Pier  Luigi  Farnese, 
son  of  the  Pope,  l)y  the  standard-bearer  of  the  S.  P.  Q.  R., 
Giuliano  Cesarini,  and  by  many  other  dignitaries,  while  the 
cardinals  awaited  his  ai'rival  at  the  chapel  of  Domine-quo- 
vadis. 

The  decoration  of  the  city  gate,  designed  by  Antonio  da 


PAUL   III  111 

Sangallo  the  young-er,  in  coiijuiictioii  with  his  own  brother, 
Battista  il  Gohbo,  Martin  Heeniskerk,  Ratt'aello  da  Monte- 
hipO;  r  Indaco,  Girolamo  Pilotto,  and  other  great  masters, 
formed  a  suitable  opening  for  a  series  of  wonders.  The 
programme  of  the  reception  suggested  by  Latino  Gioyenale 
Mannetti,  and  ap})roved  by  the  Pope  and  the  conservatori, 
was  subUme  in  its  simphcity.  The  emperor  was  to  be  escorted 
through  the  Vie  Appia,  Triumphahs,  and  Sacra,  bordered 
by  the  great  ruins  of  the  imperial  age,  to  the  Piazza  di  San 
Marco  (di  Venezia),  and  then  to  that  of  St.  Peter's  by  the 
Via  Papale,  a  street  of  palaces  and  stately  churches.  The 
reader's  appreciation  of  the  g-enius  of  Mannetti  in  carrying 
the  programme  into  execution  will  be  increased  by  the  fact 
that  it  had  been  agreed  upon  only  on  December  10  of  the 
preceding  year  ;  in  other  words,  that  in  the  short  interyal 
of  fifteen  weeks  the  emperor's  highway,  three  miles  long, 
had  been  opened,  leyelled,  payed,  decorated,  and  spanned 
with  triumphal  arches ;  that  two  hundred  houses  and  three 
or  four  churches  had  been  demolished,  and  that  the  baths 
of  Caracalla,  the  Septizonium,  the  Coliseum,  the  palace  of  the 
Csesars,  the  Templum  Sacrae  Urbis  (SS.  Cosma  e  Damiano), 
the  Heroon  of  Romulus,  son  of  Maxentius,  the  temple  of 
Faustina,  the  arch  of  Septimius,  and  the  forum  and  column 
of  Trajan  had  been  freed  of  their  ignoble  surroundings  and 
brought  into  full  yiew.  Very  few  modern  administrations 
can  boast  of  haying  accomplished  so  much  at  such  a  short 
notice ;  and  the  outlay  was  only  50,51:7  ducats. 

The  end  of  the  festiyities  did  not  mark  the  end  of  the 
material  improyement  of  the  city.  Thanks  to  the  good  will 
of  the  Pope  and  to  the  untiring  energy  of  the  "  maestro 
delle  strade,"  Mannetti,  assisted  by  Angelo  del  Bufalo  de' 
Cancellieri  as  administrator,  and  by  Bartolomeo  Baronino  as 
engineer  and  expert,  the  aspect  of  the  capital  underwent  as 


1V2  I'Arr.  in 

radical  a  change  us  that  bioiiglit  about  again  by  Sixtus  V 
and  Donu'iiico  Fontaiia  towards  tlio  end  of  the  century ;  with 
this  dillV'rence,  however,  that  while  the  eiforts  of  the  latter 
Pope  were  directed  towards  the  rehabilitation  of  the  high 
quarters  from  the  Trinita  de'  Monti  to  Santa  Croce  in  Geru- 
salenime  (which  had  been  left  untenanted  since  the  cutting 
of  the  acjueducts),  the  aim  of  Paul  HI  and  Mannetti  was 
the  sanitation  and  betterment  of  the  low-lying  (|uarters, 
which  enjoyed  an  ample  supply  of  water. 

The  budget  of  the  works  accomplished  between  1536  and 
154*)  includes  the  opening  or  levelling  or  widening  of  the 
Corso,  of  the  Vie  di  S.  Gregorio,  di  Marforio,  Paolina,  de' 
Baullari,  del  Babuino,  di  Panico,  del  foro  Traiano,  di  Torre 
Argentina,  de'  Condotti,  de'  Cestari,  della  Palombella,  di 
Santa  Maria  in  Monticelli,  del  Plebiscito,  Papale,  Alessan- 
drina  ;  the  opening  of  the  four  squares,  di  San  Marco  (Vene- 
zia),  Farnese,  Navona,  and  Santi  Apostoli;  the  erection  of 
the  tower  and  belvedere  on  the  northern  summit  of  the 
Capitoline  hill ;  of  the  viaduct  connecting  the  tower  with 
the  Palazzo  di  Venezia ;  of  the  bastions  of  Belvedere,  of 
Santa  Sabina,  of  Santo  S])irito,  and  of  the  Antoniana  ;  of 
the  Sala  Kegia  and  of  the  pontifical  apartment  in  the  castle 
of  Sant'  Angelo  ;  the  laying  out  of  the  Orti  Farnesiani  on 
the  Palatine  ;  the  erection  of  the  new^  apse  of  St.  Peter's, 
and  the  gathering  of  a  museum  of  statuary,  of  a  gallery 
of  pictures,  and  of  a  library  the  equal  of  which  had  never 
l)een  seen  in  the  possession  of  a  private  family. 

The  funds  for  the  opening  or  the  bettering  of  a  street 
wTre  derived  from  a  so-called  "  tassa  di  gettito,"  or  "im- 
provement-tax," to  be  paid  by  all  owners  of  property  along 
the  line,  the  value  of  which  would  be  increased  by  the  in- 
tended works.  The  minutes  of  these  "  tasse  di  gettito,"  an 
excellent  source  of  information  for  the  topography  of  the 


PAUL   III 


113 


city  in  the  first  half  of  the  sixteenth  century,  are  all  pre- 
served in  the  state  archives  of  Santa  Maria  in  Canipomarzio, 
except  one  which  I  purchased  at  a  book  sale  in  1902.  It 
refers  to  the  improvement  of  the  Corso  in  the  year  1538, 
in  consequence  of  which  it  became  the  main,  the  busiest,  the 
most  fashionable  thoroughfare  of  the   city,   a   distinction 


One  of  the  eoiirts  of  the  Palazzo  di  Venezia,  the  favor- 
ite residence  of  Paul  III,  by  Meo  del  Caprine  and 
Jacopo  da  Pietrasanta 

enjoyed  up  to  that  time  by  the  now  almost  forgotten  Via 
Giulia. 

The  taxation  of  property,  in  the  document  of  1538,  does 
not  begin  at  tlie  Piazza  del  Popolo,  but  only  at  about  a 
third  of  the  way,  namely,  at  the  Arco  di  Portogallo,  the 


114  I'AIL    III 

iiaiiu'K'ss  arch  of  the  decadence,  which  s})anne(l  the  street 
at  tlio  lu'ii^lit  of  the  Via  dclla  Vito.'  The  reason  is  mani- 
fest. Tlie  Areo  di  Port()t;allo  niarked  tlie  extreme  end  of 
the  ndiahited  citv;  l)eyond  it  n()rtli\\ard.  tliat  is  to  say,  in 
tlie  dirt'ction  of  the  i;ate,  tiiere  was  no  property  worthy 
to  be  taxetl.  At  the  areh,  therefore,  began  the  carnival 
sports  and  races,  and  all  official  })ai;eants,  such  as  the  recep- 
tion of  foreign  ambassadors  or  princes  of  royal  blood,  the 
processions  of  the  Rogations,  of  the  Corpus  Domini,  etc. 

The  document  informs  us  that  the  Coi'so  was  bordered  at 
that  time  by  one  hundred  and  sixteen  houses,  palaces,  or 
church  establishments ;  that  the  most  valuable  piece  of  pro- 
pertv  was  the  Palazzo  di  Venezia,  from  the  corner  balcony 
ot"  whieli  it  was  possible  to  survey  the  whole  length  of  the 
street  ("^  vede  insino  alia  porta  del  Populo  et  ne  piglia  grande 
utilita  ")  ;  that  next  in  importance  to  the  Palazzo  di  Venezia 
came  that  of  Cardinal  Francisco  Quinones,  Count  of  Luna, 
adjoining  San  Lorenzo  in  Lucina ;  that  of  Cardinal  Ercole 
Conzaga,  on  the  site  of  the  present  Palazzo  Doria  ;  and  that 
of  the  Salviati  family,  at  the  corner  of  the  Via  dell'  Uniilta, 
on  the  site  of  the  present  Palazzo  Aldobrandini. 

Excellent  illustrations  of  this  state  of  things,  as  regards 
the  Corso  of  the  sixteenth  century,  are  to  be  found  in  the 
plan  of  Leonardo  Bufalini  (L").")!).  in  the  panoramic  views 
of  Maggi  (1610)  and  Tempesta  (1045),  and  in  the  sketch- 
books of  Alo  Giovannoli  (IGIG),  Israel  Silvestre  (16-42), 
and  Giovanni  Falda  (1660).  In  the  private  apartments  of 
the  Marchese  Theodoli  there  are  still  to  be  seen  two  views 
of  the  street  painted  by  order  of  Girolamo  Theodoli,  Bishop 
of  Cadiz,  in  the  third  quarter  of  the  sixteenth  century,  and 
representing  the  middle  section  of  the  street,  between  the 
Arco  di  PortojT'illo  and  the  Piazza  Colonna.    The  scene  is 

^  See  illustration  on  p.  40. 


FAUL   III  115 

enlivened  by  allegorical  masqnerades,  with  allusions  to  the 
gossip  of  the  day. 

While  engaged  in  the  task  of  freeing  the  city  from  its 
mediaeval  fetters,  Paul  III  did  not  forget  his  own  interests, 
and  beofan  the  reconstruction  of  the  old  residence  on  such 
a  scale  of  ofrandeur  and  mao-nificence  that  it  remains  to  the 
present  day  unequalled.  In  erecting  the  Farnese  palace,  with 
the  help  of  the  great  masters  of  the  age,  he  foresaw  undoubt- 
edly the  brilliant  future  of  his  race,  a  future  destined  to  out- 
distance the  wildest  dreams  of  human  ambition.  The  first 
august  alliance  was  contracted  by  the  Farnese  in  1538, 
with  the  betrothal  of  Ottavio,  nephew  of  the  Pope,  to  the 
young  widow  of  Alessandro  de'  Medici,  Madame  Margaret  of 
Austria,  daughter  of  the  Emperor  Charles  V.  The  assassi- 
nation of  Duke  Alessandro,  which  had  taken  place  the  year 
before,  must  be  considered  an  event  of  archseological  as 
well  as  political  importance,  as  it  marks  the  dispersion  of 
the  antiquarian  collections  which  the  Medici  had  so  lovingly 
formed,  from  materials  found,  for  the  greater  part,  in  Rome. 
The  soldiery  and  the  populace,  instigated  by  Alessandro 
Vitelli,  broke  open  the  doors  of  the  ducal  palace  and  pil- 
laged it  of  its  precious  contents,  such  as  illuminated  manu- 
scripts, gems,  medals,  marble  and  bronze  statues,  which 
were  handed  over  to  Vitelli  himself.  When  Margaret  aban- 
doned Florence,  on  her  way  to  Rome,  Ferdinando  de  Silva, 
the  ambassador  of  Charles  V,  compelled  the  usurper  to  give 
back  part  of  the  stolen  treasures,  among  them  the  priceless 
intaglio  of  Apollo  and  Marysas  known  as  "  Nero's  seal," 
and  the  cup  of  agate  known  as  the  "  tazza  Farnese."  These 
two  /cet/x>/Xta,  first  removed  to  Parma,  are  now  preserved 
in  the  Museo  Nazionale  at  Naples. 

The  beautiful  bride  came  in  sight  of  Rome  by  the  Via  Tri- 
umphalis,   on  Sunday,  November  3,  1538,  the  anniversary 


IK)  PMI.    Ill 

(lav  of  the  coronation  of  Paul  111.  She  had  passed  the  last 
niiihtof  the  ioiuiiev  aniouii"  the  niiiis  of  Veil  in  the  eastle  of 
the  Orsini,  now  called  the  Isola  Farnese,  and  had  halted  for 
rest  and  refreshment  in  the  \illa  hniit  hy  ('lenient  VII,  on 
the  slope  of  the  Monte  Mario,  which  bears  now  the  name  of 
Villa  Madama.  The  entry  in  state  was  made  by  the  Porta  del 
Popolo,  two  honrs  before  sunset,  amid  the  loud  acclamations 
of  the  people,  who  had  perhajjs  never  beheld  such  a  charming 
scene.  The  bride,  ridini;-  a  '' chinea  learda  "  of  great  price, 
and  attended  by  Cardinal  Alessandro  Farnese,  Cardinal  di 
Compostella,  and  twenty-five  ecpierries,  wore  a  marvellous 
habit  of  white  satin,  cut  in  the  Portuguese  fashion,  with  gold 
embroideries  interwoven  with  pearls. 

The  procession,  followed  by  the  foreign  ambassadors,  the 
Court,  the  Sacred  College,  the  Patriciate,  and  the  Senatore, 
Conservatori,  and  Caporioni,  rode  through  the  Corso,  the 
Piazza  di  San  Marco,  the  Via  Papale,  and  entered  the  Borgo 
by  the  iElian  bridge.  Ottavio  Farnese  was  presented  to  the 
bride  in  the  loggia  of  the  first  floor  of  the  palace,  and  the 
couple  proceeded  hand  in  hand  through  the  "  anticamera 
de'  Paranienti "  to  the  Pope's  throne  room,  where  Margaret 
received  a  cordial  welcome  and  superb  gifts.  I  have  pur- 
posely mentioned  at  length  this  advent  of  the  daughter  of 
Charles  V  to  Rome,  because  her  name  is  still  popular  among 
us  from  its  connection  with  the  Palazzo  and  the  Villa  Ma- 
dama, and  with  the  picturesque  village  of  Castel  Madama  in 
the  upper  valley  of  the  Anio. 

The  Palazzo  Madama,  built  and  enriched  with  a  library,  a 
museum  of  statuary,  and  a  gallery  of  pictures  by  Cardinal 
Giovanni  de'  Medici,  afterwards  Leo  X,  has  been  so  well 
described  by  Michaelis  and  Miintz  '  that  I  need  not  touch 

'  Adolf  Michaelis,  Jahrbuch  d.  Instititts,  vol.  viii,  a.  1893,  p.  119  ;  Eugene 
Miintz,  Memnires  de  VAcade'mie  des  Inscriptions  et  Belles  Lettres,  vol.  xxxv,  a. 
1895,  part  II. 


PAUL   III 


117 


A  corner  of  the  Palazzo  Madama,  showing  details  of  windows,  frieze,  and  cornice 

the  subject  again.  Before  becoming-  the  residence  of  Mar- 
garet it  had  been  occupied  by  another  illustrious  woman, 
Alfonsina  Orsini,  widow  of  Piero  de'  Medici  and  mother  of 
Lorenzo  and  Clarice,  wdiose  charitable  instincts  towards  the 
needy  had  received  in  1514  the  most  unexpected  reward.  Of 
this  event  Clarice's  husband,  Filippo  Strozzi,  gives  the  follow- 
ing account :  "  My  mother-in-law,"  he  says,  "  is  very  fortu- 
nate indeed,  considering  the  interest  she  has  been  drawing 
from  the  money  spent  in  her  charities.  While  building  at  her 
expense  a  new  wing  of  a  monastery,  she  has  come  across  five 
exquisite  marble  figures,  all  representing  dead  or  wounded 
men.  They  belong,  as  I  understand,  to  the  history  of  the 
Horatii  and  Curiatii."  The  true  meaning  of  the  discovery  has 
been  given  by  Brunn.  We  know  from  Pausanias  that  King 
Attains  I  of  Pergamum  (241-197  b.  c.)  had  presented  the 
Athenians  wdth  four  groups  of  statues  representing,  one  the 


lis  rAiL  III 

Gioaiitomat'liia,  anotlier  the  lii;iit  hi'tweeii  the  Atlioiiiaiis  and 
till'  Aiiiazoiis  tlu'  tliird  tlic  battle  of  Marathon,  the  loiirtli 
the  (K'tVat  of  the  (Jauls  hy  Attains  liiniselt".  The  four 
l;i()11[)s — t•a^l  iii  hroii/.c — were  placccl  on  the  south  wall  of 
the  Acropolis,  ahoxc  the  theatre  of  Diouysos.  The  Hg'ures 
found  l)v  Alfonsina  Orsini  are  coi)ies  of  some  of  these 
hronze  originals  executed  by  Perg'auienian  artists  of  the  tirst 
century  after  Christ.  One  of  them,  a  statuette  of  a  Persian 
warrior,  iioav  in  the  Galleria  de'  Candelabri  of  the  \  atican 
Museum  (  Xo.  !2()1)  e),  belongs  to  the  cycle  of  the  battle 
of  Marathon  and  re})resents  a  Persian  warrior  sunk  upon 
his  knees  before  an  Athenian,  and  endeavoring"  to  parry 
with  the  right  arm  a  blow  aimed  at  him  from  above.  The 
'•  gifts  of  Attains  "  are  represented  by  other  magnificent 
specimens  of  the  Pergamenian  school  in  Rome,  by  the 
'•  Dying  Gaul  "  of  the  Capitoline  Museum,  and  bv  the  group 
of  the  "Gaul  and  his  wife"  —  the  so-called  Arria  and  Pietus 
—  of  the  Ludovisi  collection. 

The  Palazzo  Madama  has  been  the  meeting-place  of  the 
upper  House  or  Senate  since  Rome  was  made  the  capital 
of  Italy  in  1870;  but  in  spite  of  the  many  alterations 
which  the  building  underwent  at  that  time,  there  are  several 
rooms  preserved  almost  in  the  same  state  as  when  they 
were  graced  by  the  presence  of  the  daughter  of  Charles  V. 
The  Villa  Madama,  on  the  other  hand,  seems  to  have  been 
persecuted  by  ill  fate  from  its  origin  to  the  present  day. 
Built  by  Giulio  Romano  for  Cardinal  Giulio  de'  Medici, 
afterwards  Pope  Clement  VII,  on  the  eastern  slopes  of  the 
Monte  Mario,  in  a  resfitm  made  famous  bv  the  legend  of 
the  a})parition  of  the  cross,'  it  was  pillaged  and  partially 
wrecked  at  the  time  of  the  sack,  at  the  instigation  of 
Cardinal  Pompeo  Colonna,  the  personal  enemy  of  Clement 

^  See  Prif/(in  (tn>I  Christiiut  Rome,  p.  1(55. 


PAUL   III  119 

VII,  who  from  the  upper  ramparts  of  the  castle  of  Sant' 
Ana'elo  witnessed  the  scene  of  destrnction.  After  the 
retreat  of  the  imperial  army  the  villa  fell  into  the  hands 
of  the  Chapter  of  Sant'  Eustachio,  from  which  it  was  with- 
drawn on  the  occasion  of  Ottavio's  marriage,  to  be  ottered 
as  a  suburban  residence  to  his  bride.  With  some  of  the 
statues  collected  by  Clement  VII,  and  many  others  pur- 
chased from  their  discoverers  according  to  the  chances  of 
the  antiquarian  market,  Margaret  of  Austria  transformed 
the  villa,  and  above  all  the  loggia  of  Giovanni  da  Udine, 
into  a  nuiseum  of  statuary,  which,  however,  had  but  an 
ephemeral  life.  The  semi-colossal  figure  of  Jupiter,  the  gem 
of  the  collection,  was  the  first  to  leave  the  woody  recesses  of 
the  villa  for  Fontainebleau.  Another  "  statue  de  marble 
blanc,  representant  nn  honnne  dont  la  barbe  descend  au- 
dessous  de  la  poitrine  "  was  offered  as  a  present  to  Cardinal 
Perrenot  de  Granvelle,  the  secretary  of  state  of  Charles  V 
and  Philiji  11.  The  ultimate  dispersion  of  the  marbles  took 
place  in  156G  as  the  result  of  a  Brief  of  Pins  V  by  which 
their  noble  owner  was  empowered  to  dispose  of  them  at 
her  will,  and  even  to  export  them  from  Rome.  One  cannot 
enter  the  now  silent  and  lonesome  precincts  of  the  villa,  and 
gaze  at  the  unfinished  "  teatro,"  at  the  loggia  of  Giovanni 
da  Udine,  mouldy  and  green  with  dampness,  at  the  rank 
weeds  growing  in  the  paths  once  trodden  by  the  feet  of  the 
august  bride  of  Ottavio  Farnese,  without  experiencing  the 
same  sense  of  sadness  which  one  feels  on  visiting  the  Villa 
Conti  at  Poli,  the  Villa  Farnese  at  Caprarola,  the  Villa 
Versaglia  at  Formello,  all  of  them  deserted  and  left  to 
decay  by  the  heirs  of  their  respective  founders. 

The  alliance  with  the  head  of  the  Holy  Roman  Empire  was 
soon  followed  bv  that  with  the  house  of  France,  through 
the  marriage  between  Orazio  Farnese,  Duke  of  Castro  and 


1-0  I'ML    III 

l)rotlu'i-iii-l;i\v  of  Margaret .  witli  Diana,  daiio'liter  of  Henry 
II.  This  luarriage  was  ci'lclnatcd  in  \7)A\).  Alessaudro, 
Duke  of  rarma,  who  inherited  the  estates  of  his  father 
Ottavio  in  l.lSi),  named  govenior  of  Fhinders  hj  his  uncle 
Pliili})  II,  and  one  of  the  most  renowned  army  leaders  of 
the  time,  contracted  another  alliance  with  a  royal  house 
by  marrvino-  the  Infanta  Maria  of  Portuo-al,  dauohter  of 
Prince  (Jdoardo. 

The  last  Duke  of  Parma  and  Piacenza,  xVntonio  Farnese 
(\Tll-ol),  havino-  no  male  issue,  married  his  niece  Elisa- 
betta  to  Philip  V,  king  of  Spain.  The  duchy,  therefore, 
passed  into  the  possession  of  the  Infante  Don  Carlos,  born 
of  this  marriage,  who  in  1734  became  also  king  of  the  Two 
Sicilies,  a  most  unfortunate  event  for  Rome  and  its  histor- 
ical collection,  as  I  shall  have  the  opportunity  to  explain 
before  the  end  of  this  chapter. 

The  construction  of  the  Farnese  palace,  from  the  designs 
of  Antonio  da  Sangallo  the  younger,  began  about  the  year 
1540,  and  was  completed  by  the  Pope's  namesake  and  grand- 
son. Cardinal  Alessandro,  long  after  the  death  of  the  former. 
Flaminio  Vacca  relates  the  following  story  in  connection 
with  Antonio's  work :  "  I  have  been  told  that  after  the 
foundations  of  the  palace  \vere  finished  and  the  walls  raised 
to  a  considerable  height  above  the  ground,  a  great  crack 
was  noticed  in  the  masonry  of  the  corner  facing  the  church 
of  San  Girolamo  della  Carita.  Antonio  made  soundinp-s  in 
more  than  one  place  to  ascertain  the  cause  of  the  accident, 
and  was  astonished  to  discover  a  <»"reat  Roman  sewer  runnino- 
under  the  clay  bed  upon  which  he  had  laid  the  foundations 
of  that  corner."  Vacca's  story  is  not  correct;  the  mishap 
was  due  to  the  fact  that  Antonio  had  planted  the  new  walls 
upon  those  of  the  ''  Stabulum  factionis  Russatae,"  —  the 
barracks  and  stables  of  the  Red  S(piadron  of  Charioteers,  — 


i 


THE    LOGGIA    OF    GIOVANNI    DA    UDINE    IN    THE    VILLA 

MADAMA 
Details  of  the  ceiling 


i 


PAUL   III  123 

the  thickness  and  strength  of  which  was  not  able  to  stand 
the  strain  and  weight  of  the  superstructure.  These  walls, 
together  with  a  beautiful  mosaic  pavement  in  black  and 
white  representing  feats  of  horsemanship,  can  still  be  seen 
in  the  cellars  of  the  right  wing  of  the  palace. 

Panciroli,  Martinelli,  Marangoni,  Fea,  and  other  writers 
about  Rome  take  it  for  granted  that  the  great  structure 
was  mainly  built  of  stone  quarried  from  the  Coliseum,  and 
one  after  another  they  repeat  the  anecdote  about  Cardinal 
Alessandro,  who,  having  obtained  from  the  Pope  a  grant 
of  as  much  material  as  he  could  properly  remove  in  one 
night,  laid  hold  of  several  hundred  carts,  even  from  the  hill- 
towns  and  villages  of  the  Campagna,  and  accomplished  in  a 
few  hours  the  work  of  many  weeks. 

The  fact  is  that  in  the  diary  of  expenses,  kept  by  Mon- 
signor  Aleotto,  who,  in  conjunction  with  the  banker  Ceuli, 
administered  the  funds,  no  mention  occurs  of  the  Coliseum. 
The  blocks  of  travertine  came  from  the  "  Fosse  di  Tivoli," 
and  especially  from  the  district  since  called  Casal  Bernini ; 
and  long  teams  of  buffaloes  plodded  along  the  Via  Tiburtina, 
dragging  their  heavy  loads  even  in  the  heart  of  summer, 
when  the  quarry  men,  as  a  rule,  are  obliged  to  leave  their 
work  on  account  of  the  great  heat.  The  marbles,  on  the 
other  hand,  lavishly  used  throughout  the  building,  represent 
the  spoliation,  if  not  the  destruction,  of  several  classic  edi- 
fices,—  of  the  temple  of  the  Sun  in  the  Colonna  gardens, 
of  the  baths  of  Caracalla,  and  of  the  ruins  of  Porto. 

The  temple  of  the  Sun,  the  remains  of  which,  known  by 
the  name  of  "  Torre  Mesa  "  or  "  Frontespizio  di  Nerone," 
towered  one  hundred  feet  above  the  terrace  of  the  Colonna 
gardens  on  the  Quirinal,  was  the  property  of  the  Prin- 
cess Giulia,  widow  of  Prosperetto  Colonna,  a  lady  wdiose 
name  is  connected  with  the  establishment  of  many  chari- 


124  I'Mi.   Ill 

ties,  such  as  the  Casa  tie'  Catei'iiineiii,  the  monasterv  of  Sant' 
Anibr()i;-it)  alia  Massiina,  etc.  The  iimiieiise  size  of  the  temi)le 
can  be  better  appreciated  fioiii  the  fact  that  its  area  cov- 
ered one  huudieil  and  iifty  thousand  s(juare  feet;  that  the 
fountain  of  Sixtus  V.  fonnerlv  in  the  Piaz/.a  del  Popolo  and 
now  in  the  j^^aiden  of  San  Pietro  in  JMontorio,  was  cut  out 
of  a  single  base;  that  a  block  of  the  pediment,  wdiich  now 
lies  near  the  ed<;e  of  the  upper  terrace,  weighs  one  hundred 
tons;  and  that  tlie  j)avement  of  the  Galleria  degli  Specchi 
in  the  adjoining  palace  was  inlaid  with  marble  cut  out  of  a 
single  Idock  of  the  frieze.  The  destruction  of  these  noble 
ruins  for  the  sake  of  providing  the  Farnese  palace  with  or- 
namental materials  began  in  January,  1549,  according  to 
the  terms  of  agreement  between  the  Princess  Giulia  and  the 
Pope's  agent,  Monsignor  Aleotto.  After  the  death  of  Paul 
III,  Prince  Ascanio,  Avho  had  iidierited  Giuha's  rights, 
made  a  present  of  what  was  left  of  the  temple  to  Julius  III, 
then  engaged  in  building  his  beautiful  villa  on  the  Via 
Flaminia.  The  Oesi  chapel  in  Santa  Maria  Maggiore  had 
also  a  share  of  the  spoils.  No  wonder,  then,  that  the  great- 
est tem])le  of  imperial  Rome  should  have  disappeared  so 
completely  that,  but  for  a  single  block  of  the  pediment, 
and  for  the  sketches  of  the  sixteenth  century  artists  wdio 
witnessed  the  destruction,  we  should  now  be  ignorant  even 
of  the  former  location  of  Aurelian's  masterpiece.  The  stran- 
gest part  of  this  story  is  that  the  provider  of  archaeological 
marbles  for  the  Palazzo  Farnese  and  the  destroyer  of  the 
temple  of  the  Sun  was  the  same  Messer  Mario  Macharone 
whom  Paul  III  had  ap])ointed  "  commissario  degli  scavi ;  " 
that  is  to  say,  protector  of  antique  ruins  and  edifices  against 
the  greed  of  despoilers.  How  often  Messer  Mario  must  have 
regretted  his  end)arrassing  position,  when  the  sense  of  duty 
on  one  side  and  the  wish  to  serve  the  Pope  on  the  other 


\'Ii:\V    OK     THE    REMAINS    OP^    TI^ 
COLONNA   GARDEN: 

From  the  peispective  plan  of  Rome  made  by  Giova 


PLE    OF   THE    SUN    IN    THE 
•HE    OUIRINAL 

at  the  beginning  of  the  seventeenth  century 


FAUL   III  125 

were  drawing  him  in  quite  different  directions  !  I  think, 
however,  that  he  must  have  come  to  a  com])romise  with  his 
conscience,  and  that  between  the  two  conflictino-  interests 
he  must  have  chosen  to  serve  his  own.  We  are  indirectly 
informed  of  this  fact  by  Ulisse  Aldovrandi,  the  anticjuarian 
from  Bologna,  who  declares  that  he  saw  in  1556,  among 
the  curiosities  of  the  Macharone  house  at  the  Macello  de' 
Corvi,  "  a  marble  horse  in  full  harness  to  which  are  attached 
the  legs  of  the  rider  "  and  the  "  head  and  bust  of  Caracalla, 
part  of  a  semi-colossal  statue,"  found  in  the  baths  of  that 
emperor.  It  seems  evident,  therefore,  that  while  Messer 
Mario  was  exhuming  and  putting  aside  for  his  master  the 
Hercules  of  Glycon,  the  group  of  Dirce,  the  Flora,  the  group 
of  Atraeus,  the  two  Gladiators,  and  many  other  such  won- 
ders of  ancient  art,  he  thought  it  fair  to  keep  for  himself 
one  or  two  mementos  of  the  successful  excavations. 

The  Farnese  palace  became  the  recipient  of  the  rarest  and 
best  collections  ever  formed  by  a  private  individual  (the 
Pope  had  made  over  the  property  to  Cardinal  Alessandro 
the  younger,  his  own  grandson)  even  before  its  completion 
by  Michelangelo.  The  collections  comprised  works  of  stat- 
uary, pictures,  books  and  manuscripts,  and  ohjets  de  vertu 
and  curiosities.  The  museum  of  statuary  was  formed  partly 
with  the  products  of  excavations,  partly  by  purchase.  From 
this  second  point  of  vieAv  the  museum  represents  to  us  the 
outcome  of  the  efforts  which  had  been  made,  indejjendently 
of  each  other,  by  Cardinal  Marino  Grimani,  by  Bernardino 
de'  Fabii,  by  the  brothers  Sassi,  by  Paolo  del  Bufalo,  Muzia 
de'  Velli,  Tommaso  della  Porta,  Orazio  Sangallo,  and  others 
to  secure  for  their  respective  houses  and  gardens  the  best 
pieces  of  statuary  that  chanced  to  come  into  the  market 
before  the  beginning  of  the  Farnese  collections.  I  cannot 
better  illustrate  this  point  than   by  reproducing  from  An- 


126  j'.iCL  Jii 

tonio  Lafreri's  "  Spoculinn  roinaiiao  inai;infic'C'ntiae  "  tlie 
eeleljrated  iMioTaviiii;-  wlucli  icincsfiits  the  aiiti(|iiitit'S  col- 
lectt'd  1)V  the  lnotlicrs  FaMo  and  Dccidio  Sassi  in  the  court 
and  l(>u'L;ia  td'  tlu'ir  lioiisc  iii  the  \  ia  di  I'aiione,  iidjoiniiii;' 
tlie  })ahK't'  iidialtiti'd  In  Canliiial  del  Monte,  afterwards  Pope 
.Tidius  111.'  1  have  not  Keen  aide  to  ascertain  tlie  place 
from  which  these  heautiful  statues  had  been  brouiiht  to 
li<;ht.  iu'canse  the  expression  used  l)y  the  '"Ilelhig-  of  the 
( "iiKpiecento,"  Ulisse  Aldovrandi,  "  trovate  in  casa  dl 
Messer  Fabio  Sasso  in  Parione,"  cannot  be  taken  in  its 
literal  sense.  What  1  have  found,  however,  in  the  state 
archives  among-  the  records  of  an  obscure  notary,  Antonio 
Scribano,  is  a  deed  of  sale  dated  June  2G,  154(),  by  which 
Duke  Ottavio  Farnese  secured  the  Sassi  collection  for  his 
own  palace,  and  for  the  price  of  one  thousand  gold  scudi. 
The  deed  mentions  especially  the  so-called  Hermaphrodite 
(Apollo)  of  touchstone;  a  sitting  female  figure,  with  the 
drapery  of  porphyry  and  the  head  and  hands  of  bronze;  the 
jSIarcus  Aurelius,  the  so-called  Sabina,  a  bust  attributed  to 
Pompey  the  Great,  and  several  torsos,  bas-reliefs,  and  frag- 
ments, all  of  which  are  represented  in  Lafi'eri's  plate,  and 
can  be  easilv  sini>led  out  amonof  the  Farnesian  marbles  of 
the  Museo  Nazionale  at  Naples. 

The  larger  portion,  however,  of  the  specimens  which 
a})})ear  in  the  Farnese  catalogues  published  by  Fiorelli  came 
from  direct  exploration  of  the  soil,  made  both  in  Kome  and 
in  the  Campagna.  The  places  which  were  excavated  in 
Rome  are  the  teni])le  of  Neptune  and  the  portico  of  the 
Argonauts,  in  the  Piazza  di  Pietra  ;  the  forum  of  Trajan  ; 
the  Curia  Athletarum,  near  the  church   of   San   Pietro  in 

*  The  house  of  the  brothers  Sassi  forms  the  subject  of  a  iii()iio<^raj)li  pub- 
lished by  Professor  Frederici  iu  vol.  xx,  a.  1897,  of  tlie  Archivio  della  Societa 
romana  di  sioria  patria. 


PAUL   III 


127 


The  couir  ul  iliu  ^asii  i'alace,  with  the  works  of  art  purchased  in  1546  by  Paul  III ; 
from  an  engraving  by  Lafreri. 


Vincoli ;  the  western  end  of  the  Forum  by  the  Kostra  and 
the  arch  of  Septnnius  Severiis ;  the  baths  of  Caracalla  and 
of  Diocletian  ;  the  Licinian  gardens  by  the  so-called  Minerva 
Medica,  and  the  gardens  of  Csesar  outside  the  Porta  Portese. 
As  regards  the  exploration  of  the  Campagna,  it  was  carried 
as  far  as  the  sites  of  Bovillse,  Tibtir,  and  Tuscnlum. 

The  results  of  the  search  made  in  the  baths  of  Caracalla 


V2S  PAUL   III 

between  .Tanuarv,  1 ')-i(),  and  tlie  end  of  tlie  year  l.')4i)  make 
us  think  of  a  fairv  tale.  Imagine  those  men,  led  by  Mario 
Macharone,  lavino-  hands,  for  the  Hrst  time  since  the  revival 
of  elas.sie  studies,  on  a  Kmldiiii;'  wliich  all  the  Ivoinaii  ciii- 
perors  of  the  third  century,  from  Caracalla  to  Diocletian, 
had  endeavored  to  make  the  most  attractive  in  the  capital, 
lavishing-  upon  it  all  the  art  treasures  which  they  could 
gather  for  the  purpose.  Imagine  those  agents  of  the  Po})e 
discovering  the  two  Hercules,  the  Flora,  the  Gladiators,  the 
Atneus,  and  the  grouj)  of  Dirce,  lying  at  the  feet  of  their 
respective  niches.  The  number  of  masterpieces,  says  Ligorio 
in  vol.  ii  of  the  Turin  MSS.,  found  Avithin  the  baths  goes 
beyond  the  dreams  of  imagination,  —  whole  rows  of  columns 
of  giallo,  alabaster,  and  porphyry,  numberless  fountains, 
basins,  baths  cut  in  precious  stones,  ''  con  mille  maniere 
d'  ornamenti  di  grandissima  spesa  die  porgevano  spavento." 
Without  pursuing  a  subject  about  which  a  volume  could 
l)e  Avritten,  I  will  mention  one  incident  only,  connected  wdth 
the  group  of  Dirce,  the  account  of  which  I  have  just  dis- 
covered in  the  Chigi  Library.  A  cii)lier  despatch  from  the 
Papal  nuncio  in  Paris,  deci})hered  in  Rome  on  February  1, 
IGGG,  speaks  of  the  efforts  made  by  King  Louis  XIV  to 
obtain  from  the  Duke  of  Parma  the  gift  of  the  group.  The 
negotiations  were  carried  on  between  the  king  and  the 
duke  by  the  confidential  agent,  Abate  Siri,  and  they  would 
j»robably  have  succeeded,  and  Italy  would  have  been  de- 
prived of  the  possession  of  that  magnificent  work,  but  for 
the  firmness  of  the  Pope  in  demanding  that  the  wish  of 
the  testators,  Paul  III  and  Cardinal  Alessandro,  should  be 
respected.  The  will  of  the  cardinal,  discovered  by  Fiorelli 
in  the  records  of  the  notary  Prospero  Campana,  and  dated 
1587,  contains  the  following  clause:  "It  is  my  solemn  Avill 
that  all  my  statues  of  bronze  or  marble,  my  library,  and  the 


PAUL  III  129 

Office  of  the  Blessed  Virgin  illuminated  by  Giulio  Clovio, 
shall  be  preserved  and  kept  forever  in  the  city  of  Rome, 
and  in  the  Farnese  palace,  and  that  none  of  my  heirs  and 
successors  shall  dare  to  sell  or  give  away,  or  transfer  to 
other  places,  or  pawn  any  of  the  objects  of  art  and  curi- 
osity which  exist  at  the  present  moment  in  my  collection." 
Alas !  this  clause  did  not  prevent  the  removal  to  Naples  of 
the  Farnese  treasures  at  the  time  of  Pius  VI.  The  fear  of 
offending  the  newly  established  Bourbon  dynasty,  and  other 
political  considerations  which  would  have  had  no  effect  on 
the  head  of  the  church,  but  brought  too  strojig  a  pressure 
on  the  ruler  of  the  Pontifical  States,  induced  Pope  Pius  VI 
to  disregard  completely  the  directions  left  by  the  founders 
of  the  museum.  The  shipping  of  the  marbles  from  the 
banks  of  the  Tiber  to  those  of  the  Sebeto  began  in  1787, 
under  the  direction  of  the  painter  Hackert,  of  the  sculptor 
Albacini,  and  of  the  architect  Bonucci.  The  group  of  Dirce 
was  first  placed  in  the  middle  of  the  fountain  of  the  Villa 
Reale  di  Chiaja,  and  removed  to  the  Museo  Borbonico  only 
in  1826.  Pius  VII  and  Gregory  XVI  allowed  the  last  rem- 
nants of  the  o'lorious  Museo  Farnesiano  to  follow  the  bulk 
of  the  collection  to  Naples,  except  one  piece,  a  beautiful 
frieze  from  the  palestra  of  Caracalla's  baths,  which  not  many 
months  ago  was  sold  to  a  dealer  by  the  last  representative 
in  Rome  of  the  House  of  Naples,  for  the  sum  of  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  francs. 

In  reading  the  accounts  left  by  the  learned  men  who  wit- 
nessed the  excavations  of  the  time  of  Paul  III,  we  often 
encounter  the  figure  of  Cardinal  Alessandro  in  the  guise  of  a 
rescuer  of  antique  monuments  from  the  fate  which  generally 
awaited  them,  —  the  lime-kiln  or  the  stone-cutter's  shed.  I 
will  quote  only  two  or  three  instances  out  of  the  many  with 
which  the  name  of  this  munificent  personage  is  connected. 


130  I'ML    III 

In  tlu'  month  of  Aiig'ust,  L"34o,  the  workmen  ('m])lov(Ml 
\)\  the  leverendu  Fabrica  di  San  Pietro  to  excavate  and 
(U'stroy  the  monuments  of  the  Forum  came  ujjon  tlie  ruins 
ot"  the  Reg'ia.  PaHadio,  Metello,  Panvinio,  Li^orio,  all  of 
them  eye-witnesses,  ag'ree  that  a  o-ivat  portion  of  the  huild- 
ino-  was  standing'  above  g'round,  and  that  a  considerable 
part  of  the  '"Fasti  trium])hales  et  consnlares  "  could  still  be 
seen  engraved  on  the  marble  walls  and  pilasters.  Ligorio  savs 
that  it  took  thirty  days  to  demolish  the  Regia  to  the  level 
of  the  foundations,  some  of  the  blocks  being-  crushed  for 
the  kilns,  others  removed  to  St.  Peter's,  and  that  no  remains 
of  the  find  or  of  the  precious  documents  of  Roman  history 
would  have  been  saved  had  not  Cardinal  Alessandro  Farnese 
come  to  the  rescue.  He  not  only  piously  collected  the  frag- 
ments of  the  Fasti,  l)ut  caused  the  ground  to  be  tunnelled  in 
various  directions  in  search  of  stray  pieces.  Michelangelo  for 
the  architectural  part  and  Gentile  Delfino  for  the  epigraphie 
were  de})uted  to  arrange  them  in  the  hall  of  the  Conservatori 
palace  which  is  called  to  the  present  day  the  Sala  dei  Fasti. 

Another  splendid  occasion  for  the  cardinal  to  intervene 
in  favor  of  a  historical  monument,  doomed  to  the  same  fate 
as  the  Regia,  was  afforded  by  the  discovery  of  the  marble 
plan  of  the  ancient  city  made  at  the  time  of  Pius  IV  ( 1559- 
1565)  by  the  architect  Giovanni  Antonio  Dosio  da  San 
Geminiano.  This  enterprising  young  artist,  to  whom  we 
owe  a  set  of  Roman  views  published  in  15G9  by  Giovanni 
Battista  Cavalieri,^  had  obtained  leave  from  Prince  Tor- 
quato  Conti  to  excavate  the  garden  adjoining  the  church 
of  SS.  Cosma  e  Damiano,  at  the  foot  of  the  back  wall  of  the 
templum  Sacrae  Urbis.  Here  he  found  ninety-two  pieces 
of  the  marble  panels  u])on  which  the  "  Forma  Urbis  "  had 

*  Dosio's  original  drawings  are  preserved   in  the  Galleria  degli    Uffizi   at 
Florence. 


PAUL   III 


131 


been  engraved  about  the  year  211,  by  order  of  Septimius 
Severus  and  his  son  and  colleague  Caracalla.  Had  the  dis- 
coverer taken  care  to  collect  them  carefully,  and  to  join  the 
fragments  of  each  slab  there  and  then,  the  value  of  the  dis- 
covery would  have  been  inestimable ;  but  we  have  reason 
to  believe  that,  even  before  Cardinal  Alessandro  had  been 


Part  of  the  marble  plan  of  Rome.     From  a  photograpli  by 
Cav.  A.  Vochieri. 


warned  of  what  was  taking  place  in  the  garden  of  Torquato 
Conti,  the  fragments  were  thrown  negligently  into  a  heap 
without  the  least  consideration  for  their  mutual  relation- 
ship. Furthermore,  we  have  reason  to  believe  that  Onofrio 
Panvinio,  the  learned  Augustinian  to  whom  the  care  of 
sorting  and  placing  the  pieces  in  the  museum  was  entrusted, 
lost  either  his  patience  in  the  difficult  attempt,  or  his  appre- 
ciation of  the  value  of  the  Forma.  The  fact  is  that  only 
the  larger  and  more  impressive  fragments  were  exhibited 


l'>2  }'A!I.     Ill 

in  the  paKace,  while  four  hiiiidied  and  iiftv-one  smaller  bits 
were  thrown  into  the  cellars.  Some  years  later  a  master 
m.ison,  in  (piest  of  buildinj^  materials,  laid  hands  on  tlie 
heap,  and  made  use  of  it  in  restoring  the  boundary  wall 
of  the  Farnese  garden  on  the  river  side.  Many  of  the 
bits  were  rediscovered  in  1888  and  1899,  when  the  garden 
wall  was  demolished  to  make  room  for  the  Tiber  embank- 
ment. 

As  regards  the  larger  slabs  put  aside  by  Panvinio,  they 
had  no  respite  from  their  long  wanderings  until  three  years 
ago.  In  the  first  place.  Pope  Benedict  XIV  (to  whose 
liberality  the  Capitoline  Museum  owes  so  many  treasures) 
having  asked  King  Charles  III  of  Naples,  the  heir  to  the 
Farnese  estates,  to  present  the  "  Forma  Urbis  "  to  the  city, 
the  request  was  complied  with  in  1742,  and  the  fragments 
were  removed  first  to  the  Vatican,  then  to  the  Ca})itol,  with 
a  loss  of  only  thirteen  in  the  course  of  the  adventurous 
journey.  Then,  again,  in  1903,  I  was  instructed  by  the 
municipality  to  remove  the  fragments  from  the  stairs  of 
the  museum,  where  they  had  been  set  into  the  wall  without 
discrimination  or  reference  to  their  topographical  value,  and 
to  reconstruct  the  whole  plan  in  its  original  scale  of  1  :  250. 
The  place  selected  this  time  was  the  wall  enclosing  the  beau- 
tiful garden  of  the  Conservatori  palace  on  the  north  side, 
hiffh  and  wide  enouoli  to  contain  the  best  and  most  inter- 
esting  section  of  the  ancient  j)lan.  Of  the  one  thousand  and 
forty-nine  fragments  which  I  had  at  my  disposal  I  was  able 
to  identify  and  put  in  their  j^roper  places  one  hundred  and 
sixty-seven  only,  as  shown  in  the  accompanying  illustration. 

There  is  no  possibility  of  perfecting  the  work  unless  a 
final  and  successful  search  for  the  missing  pieces  is  made 
on  the  spot  where  the  others  originally  came  from,  namely, 
in  the  strip  of  ground  between  the  church  of  SS.  Cosma  e 


VCOLLIS 


VIMINALIS, 


COL  LIS 


QVIRINALI5 


PAUL   III  133 

Damiano,  the  basilica  of  Coiistaiitine,  and  the  Via  Ales- 
sandrina. 

The  most  memorable  year  in  the  history  of  the  Museo 
Farnesiano  is  the  first  of  the  seventeenth  century,  on  ac- 
count of  the  legacy  left  to  it  by  the  antiquarian  Fulvio 
Orsini.  The  subject  of  this  legacy  having  already  been 
described  by  De  Nolhac  in  188J:  and  Beltrami  in  1886,^  I 
will  limit  myself  to  a  few  particulars  best  calculated  to 
make  my  sketch  more  complete. 

Fulvio  Orsini,  canon  of  San  Giovanni  in  Laterano,  had 
enjoyed  for  a  great  number  of  years  the  friendship  of  the 
Farnese,  first  as  librarian  to  Ranuccio  II,  cardinal  of  Sant' 
Angelo,  later  in  the  same  capacity  with  Cardinal  Alessandro, 
lastly  as  curator  of  the  museum  under  Cardinal  Odoardo. 
By  a  wdll  dated  January  31,  1600,  he  left  to  the  latter  all  his 
collections,  on  the  condition  of  satisfying  certain  legacies 
to  the  amount  of  six  thousand  scudi.  If  the  cardinal,  for 
any  reason  whatever,  were  to  decline  to  accept  the  trust, 
the  collections  —  dearer  to  the  testator  than  life  itself  — 
were  to  be  sold,  as  far  as  possible,  wholesale,  to  prevent 
their  dispersion. 

Odoardo  followed  the  wishes  of  his  old  friend,  and  the 
Museo  Orsiniano  was  annexed  to  the  Farnesiano ;  the  two 
together  form  the  most  marvellous  group  of  masterpieces 
in  every  branch  of  art  wdiich  has  ever  been  seen  exhibited 
under  the  roof  of  a  private  mansion.  Orsini's  gift  included 
400  cameos  and  intaglios  mostly  signed  by  Greek  artists  ; 
113  pictures  and  cartoons  ;  150  historical  inscriptions ;  58 
portrait  busts  of  poets,  philosophers,  historians,  and  states- 
men, and  1500  coins,  many  of  which  are  unique.    All  these 

1  Pierre  de  Nolhac,  "  Les  collections  d'antiquites  de  Fulvio  Orsini "  in 
Melanges  de  UEc.ole  Fran(:aise  de  Rome,  vol.  iv,  a.  1884,  pp.  138-231 ;  Giovanni 
Beltrami,  I  lihri  di  Fidvio  Orsino  nella  bibUoteca  vaticana.    Rome,  1886. 


134  J'ACL    III 

objects  wc'iv  \aluL'(.l  1)\  the  testator  at  13,509  seiuli,  as  speci- 
lieil  ill  an  iii\eiilory  tliseoverecl  by  Nolliae  in  the  liiblioteca 
Ambrosiaiia  at  Mihiii,  in  which  many  secrets  conceriiiiin' 
the  aiiti([iuiriau  market  in  the  second  lialf  of  the  sixteeiitli 
cent  ury  are  revealed. 

Kiilvid  ()rsini  had  lived  in  the  very  centre  of  the  trade 
ill  smaller  objects,  such  as  engraved  stones  and  medals,  a 
trade  which  was  mostly  in  the  hands  of  the  o'oldsmiths  and 
jewellers  of  the  Via  del  Pellegrino.  This  is  the  reason  why 
the  names  of  Francesco  ]5ianchi,  Bernardino  and  Jacopo 
Passeri,  and  Andrea  di  Nello,  all  having  their  premises  in 
the  same  street,  occur  re{)eatedly  in  the  inventory,  and 
especially  that  of  a  Messer  Carlo,  from  whom  the  collector 
bought  cameos  to  the  value  of  307  scudi.  Sometimes  Fulvio 
dealt  personally  with  the  peasants  gathered  in  the  market- 
place. The  shop  of  Biagio  Stefanoni,  an  apothecary  at  the 
corner  of  the  Via  del  Caravita,  was  also  a  areat  meetina- 
l)lace  for  buyers  of  anticpies.  Fulvio  had  business  relations 
with  artists,  too,  such  as  the  Padorano,  Vincenzo  and  Nic- 
colo  Fiamminghi,  and  with  the  Roman  noblemen,  the  Maffei, 
Alberini,  Massimi,  Santacroce,  Capranica,  Rustici,  etc.,  in 
whose  lands  discoveries  were  most  likely  to  occur. 

We  who  have  witnessed  so  many  contemporary  examples 
of  fabulous  sums  offered  and  i)aid  for  a  few  square  inches 
of  canvas,  or  for  a  small  object  of  virtu,  the  value  of  which 
the  smallest  accident  could  destroy,  cannot  read  without 
emotion  that  part  of  the  inventory  relating  to  the  pictures, 
cartoons,  and  drawings  in  which  the  names  of  Raphael, 
Titian,  Daniele,  Leonardo,  Baldassare  Peruzzi,  Sebastiano 
dal  Piombo,  Baccio  Bandinelli,  Albrecht  Diirer,  and  Luke 
Cranach  occur  over  and  over  again,  and  in  which  one  hun- 
dred and  thirteen  masterpieces  are  valued  all  together  at 
1789  scudi.    The  picture  of  St.  Jerome,  by  Cranach,  Avith 


PAUL    IIT  135 

exquisite  background  by  Valerio  da  Reg-gio,  which  would 
be  worth  to-day  the  ransom  of  a  prince,  is  set  down  in  the 
catalogue  at  ten  scudi ! 

As  I  have  remarked  above,  all  these  treasures  were  lost 
to  us  in  the  fourth  quarter  of  the  eighteenth  century,  de- 
spite the  anathema  pronounced  in  the  will  of  their  original 
collector  upon  those  who  should  dare  to  remove  one  single 
object  from  the  Palazzo  Farnese.  It  seems  as  if  the  Bour- 
bons of  Naples  must  have  found  great  satisfaction  in  de- 
priving Rome  even  of  things  that  were  of  no  use  whatever 
to  them,  such  as  fragments  of  inscriptions  of  purely  local 
interest,  or  forming  part  of  a  set  already  exhibited  in  a 
Roman  museum  ;  architectural  decorations  of  Roman  monu- 
ments such  as  the  temple  of  Victory  on  the  Palatine,  the 
baths  of  Caracalla,  or  the  temple  of  Neptune ;  and  even 
pieces  of  statues  or  bas-reliefs  or  sarcophagi  ;  so  that  a 
student  wishing  to  examine  the  scattered  remains  of  these 
mutilated  bodies  has  to  travel  back  and  forth  from  the  land 
of  Romulus  to  that  of  Parthenope.  Men  of  science  and 
men  of  thought  who  consider  these  questions  from  a  higher 
standpoint  than  that  of  petty  local  jealousies  and  ambitions, 
cherished  the  hope  that  the  union  of  Italy  into  one  happy 
free  nation  would  bring  about  a  rational  settlement  in 
the  interests  of  art  and  archaeology,  as  well  as  in  the  in- 
terest of  the  several  cities  which  clamored  for  a  share 
of  the  spoils.  We  hoped  to  see  Naples  become  the  centre 
of  Greek  and  Greco-Italic  studies,  Palermo  of  Greco-Sicilian 
and  Siculo- Arabic  art,  Rome  of  Latin  antiquities,  Florence 
of  Etruscan  and  Renaissance  art,  Bologna  of  pre-Roman, 
Milan  of  Lombardesque,  Turin  of  Egyptian  and  Ligurian 
civilizations.  Such  a  rational  solution  of  existing  difficulties 
has  failed  to  come,  thanks  to  evil  influences  which  prevailed 
at  the  time  when  it  was  still  possible  to  set  things  right. 


IIJG 


PAUL    III 


Part  of  the  frieze  of  tlie  bedchamber  of  Paul  III  in  the  castle  of  Sant'  Angelo, 

bv  Periiio  del  \':i<;'a 


Paul  III  and  Cardinal  Alessandro  will  never  be  forgotten 
by  the  Romans,  in  spite  of  the  intrigues  of  Charles  III  and 
his  successors,  because  we  cannot  gaze  around  us,  within  or 
outside  the  walls  of  our  city,  without  beholding  an  artistic 
legacy  of  those  two  great  men,  be  it  the  Farnesian  gardens 
on  the  Palatine  hill,  the  papal  apartment  in  the  castle  of 
Sant'  Angelo,  the  Sala  Regia  in  the  Vatican,  the  Pauline 
chapel,  the  church  of  the  Gesii,  the  Villa  Madama,  the  walls 
and  castle  of  Frascati,  or  the  villa  at  Caprarola.  Considering 
that  each  of  the  places  mentioned  has  its  own  special  litera- 
ture, forming  altogether  a  library  of  many  hundred  volumes, 
it  would  be  futile  to  enter  into  details. 

The  pontifical  apartment  in  the  castle  of  Sant'  Angelo, 
with  its  charming  frescoes  by  Perino  del  Vaga  and  Sic- 
ciolante,  with  its  ceilings  modelled  in  stucco  or  carved  in 
wood  by  Giovanni  da  Udine  and  Giulio  Romano,  with  its 
bathro(nn  in  which  we  find  an  early  and  graceful  imitation 
of  a  classic  columbarium,^  constitutes,  in  my  judgment,  the 

1  The  bathroom  dates  from  the  time  of  Clement  VII. 


PAUL   III  137 

best  existing-  specimen  of  a  Renaissance  living  suite,  espe- 
cially adapted  to  the  wants  of  a  single  man  in  high  position. 
If  the  government,  which  keeps  hundreds  of  pieces  of  tap- 
estry stored  in  the  presses  of  the  Uffizi  in  Florence,  would 
lend  us  the  limited  number  necessary  to  drape  the  now  bare 
walls  of  Paul  Ill's  bedchamber  and  dining-hall,  the  restora- 
tion In prlstlniDii  of  the  apartment  would  be  perfect. 

A  stranger  entering  the  Sala  Regia,  which  forms,  as  it 
were,  the  vestibule  to  the  Sixtine  and  Pauline  chapels,  and 
gazing  at  the  wonderful  ceiling  carved  in  stucco  by  Daniele 
da  Volterra  and  Perino,  at  the  frescoes  painted  by  Taddeo 
and  Federico  Zuccari  and  Vasari,  and  at  the  rich  marble 
panelling  and  flooring  designed  by  Antonio  da  Sangallo, 
would  hardly  imagine  the  amount  of  damage  inflicted  on 
the  ruins  of  ancient  Rome  by  the  builders  of  this  magnifi- 
cent hall.  The  larger  portion  of  the  marbles  was  drawn  from 
the  vineyard  of  Antonio  Palluccelli,  near  the  church  of  the 
Navicella  on  the  C^elian,  the  site  of  which  is  now  enclosed 
within  the  boundaries  of  the  Villa  Mattei  (von  Hoffmann). 
It  took  Sangallo's  masons  and  stone-cutters  ten  years  to 
extract  from  those  great  ruins  all  the  marble  they  were 
capable  of  yielding.  Some  of  the  pieces  were  so  large  and 
heavy  that  a  breach  had  to  be  made  through  the  wall  of 
the  vineyard  to  allow  their  removal,  and  the  Via  della 
Navicella  had  to  be  widened  to  make  room  for  the  carts, 
each  drawn  by  several  pairs  of  buffaloes.  The  books  of 
accounts  of  the  Sala  Regia,  kept  by  Pietro  Aleotto  and  now 
preserved  in  the  state  archives,  mention  columns  of  cipollino 
and  architraves  of  portasanta  and  blocks  of  white  Greek 
marble ;  and  as  these  architectural  elements  of  great  size 
cannot  have  been  found  among  the  ruins  of  the  Barracks 
of  the  fifth  battalion  of  firemen  (Statio  Cohortis  V  vigilum), 
which  occupied  the  plateau  of  the  Cselian  behind  the  Navi- 


lo8  I'Ml.    Ill 

C'olla,  it  remains  Xo  he  ascertained  what  great  tein])le  or  hath 
stood  next  to  tlie  harrneks. 

As  soon  as  tl»e  Palhiccclh  mine  was  exhansted.  the  work- 
men attacked  the  tornm  ol  'I'r.ijan.  where  a  madonna 
Costanza  (iSantacroce  ?)  and  (Jiovanni  Zanibeceari  had  just 
discovered  certani  colnmns  heh)ni;ino"  to  the  basilica  Ulpia 
and  to  the  tenn)le  of  Trajan.  Twenty-four  horses  were  re- 
(juired  to  remove  some  of  the  l)locks  on  September  3, 1541, 
from  the  Macello  dei  Corvi  and  from  the  Piazza  dei  SS. 
Apostoli  to  the  Vatican,  where  they  were  sawn  into  sLd)s 
and  carved  into  door-posts  and  architraves.  Pirro  Ligorio 
says  that  some  of  the  cobimus  measured  fifty-four  feet  in 
heiolit  and  six  in  diameter,  partly  of  giallo  antico,  partly 
of  cipollino  with  reddish  streaks,  and  that  other  marbles  of 
archceological  interest  were  sacrificed,  anu)ng'  which  was  the 
pedestal  of  a  statue  dedicated  to  Jnlia  Sabina,  the  wife  of 
the  Emperor  Hadrian. 

Such  was  the  law  of  monumental  evolution  in  Rome  dur- 
ino-  the  Renaissance.  Each  palace,  church,  villa,  cloister, 
each  tomb,  statue,  pedestal,  altar,  fountain,  wdiich  the  genial 
artists  of  the  sixteenth  century  have  left  for  us  to  admire,  is 
tainted  with  the  same  origin,  and  re])resents  to  us  a  loss  per- 
haps greater  than  the  gain.  These  facts  explain  Avhy  I  have 
been  able  to  gather  the  materials  for  the  first  volumes  of 
my  "Storia  degli  Scavi  e  dei  Musei  di  Roma  "  mostly  from 
the  account  books  ke})t  by  the  Pope's  treasurer  or  by  the 
Camera  Capitolina,  in  connection  with  the  works  conducted 
either  by  the  state  or  by  the  municipality,  within  or  outside 
the  walls  of  the  city. 

As  regards  the  castle  and  park  built  and  laid  out  by  Car- 
dinal Alessandro  at  Caprarola,  in  the  eonnty  of  Ronciglione, 
which  formed  j)art  of  the  Farnese  estates,  I  can  but  refer  my 
readers  to  the  works  describing  this  masterpiece  of  Vignola, 


FAUL   III 


139 


by  Ursi,  Sebastiani,  Mogalli,  Liberati,  and  especially  to  the 
work  of  George  Caspar  Prenner,  published  in  Rome  in  1748. 
Better  than  any  description  are  the  two  illustrations  which 
follow,  one  representing  the  vertical  perspective  view  of  the 


The  shaft  of  the  spiral  stairs  in  the  castle  of  Caprarola  (looking-  vertically) 

spiral  staircase  of  the  castle,  with  some  of  the  arabesques 
colored  by  the  Zuccari,  and  the  other  a  view  in  the  park. 

Another  title  to  glory  for  Paul  III  is  his  action  in  favor 
of   the  university    '"  della   Sapienza,"    the  origin    of  which 


1  1()  I'ML    III 

dates  back  to  tlic  time  of  the  Alhaii  kings,  Avheii  the  youiii;' 
rej)reseiitatives  of  the  Latin  race  were  sent  to  Gal)ii.  tlic  city 
of  learnini;',  to  Ix'come  familiar  witli  the  Greek  lan<;iia<>e. 
After  the  capture  of  Gahii  hy  'rarcjuiniiis  Sii|)erl)iis  the 
central  Latui  national  school  must  ha\'e  hcen  transferred  to 
riomc.  where  we  shall  not  attempt  to  follow  its  fate  durin<>' 
the  rouoh  republican  times,  nor  its  transformation  into  the 
celebrated  "  Paedaoooium  j)uerorum  Kapitis  Africae  "  under 
the  Empire.  Its  revival,  after  centuries  of  medijeval  dark- 
ness, took  i)lace  in  the  time  of  Innocent  VII.  Leo  X,  how- 
ever, is  the  Pope  to  whom  the  L^^niversity  of  Rome  owes  its 
modern  constitution.  Leo  was  a  great  partisan  of  the  Greek 
languag'e,  and  to  render  it  more  popular  in  Rome  he  had 
entrusted  its  teaching  to  John  Lascaris  and  other  Greek 
refugees  of  great  learning,  gathering  together  for  this  pur- 
pose the  famous  Medicean  academy  in  the  garden  of  the 
poet  Angelo  Colocci  opposite  the  church  of  San  Silvestro. 
Considering,  moreover,  how  necessary  it  was  for  men  destined 
to  high  public  offices  to  become  cognizant  of  the  history 
of  their  own  country,  he  entrusted  the  learned  Evangelista 
^laddaleni  Capodiferro  with  the  mission  of  lecturing  for  one 
hour  in  the  Capitol,  every  day  when  the  city  magistrates 
met  there  for  business ;  he  had  a  salary  of  three  hundred 
scudi  a  year,  to  be  drawn  from  the  so-called  gabella  del 
vino,  or  duty  imposed  on  foreign  wines  landed  at  the  quay  of 
Ripa  Grande.  Leo  also  protected  the  old  Accademia  Romana 
d'  Archeologia,  founded  by  Pomponio  Leto,  which  used  to 
meet  periodically  in  the  garden  of  the  illustrious  president, 
amono-  the  ruins  of  the  baths  of  Constantine.  There  were 
occasional  sittinsfs  held   in  the  oardens  of  Anoelo  Colocci 

o  r^  o 

near  the  fountain  of  Trevi,  of  Mario  Maffei  da  Volterra  on 
the  l)anks  of  the  Tiber,  and  of  Johann  Goritz  amoiiir  the 
ruins  of  the  forum  of  Trajan. 


PAUL   III  141 

The  reorganization  of  the  university  dates  from  Novem- 
ber 5,  1513,  and  from  the  issuing  of  the  Bull  Dum  suams- 
simos,  which  contains  the  following  regulations:  that  no  less 
than  three  lecturers  should  teach  in  the  principal  branches 
of  learning ;  that  besides  lecturing  from  the  chair  they 
should  hold  familiar  conversations  with  the  students ;  that 
the  professor  failing  to  lecture  without  sufficient  excuse 
should  be  heavily  fined ;  that  professors  of  law  should  not 
practice  before  the  courts ;  that  the  janitors  should  keep  a 
record  of  the  lectures  duly  given  or  of  those  omitted,  and 
finally  that  the  professors  should  be  subject  to  an  income 
tax  of  three  per  cent. 

The  institution  prospered  greatly  under  the  benevolent 
Pope.  From  a  roll  of  the  staff  of  the  university,  discov- 
ered by  Gaetano  Marini  in  a  booth  at  the  rag  fair  in  the 
Piazza  Navona,  and  published  in  1804,  we  learn  that  only  one 
year  after  the  publication  of  the  Bull  Dum  suavissimos, 
the  professional  staff  numbered  eleven  canonists,  twenty 
jurisconsults,  fifteen  physicians,  five  philosophers,  and  a  pro- 
fessor of  botany,  a  science  wdiich  had  never  been  taught 
before  in  any  Italian  university.  No  wonder  that  a  statue 
should  have  been  raised  to  the  pontifical  reformer  in  the 
Capitol  with  an  inscription  recording  his  generosity  towards 
the  Gymnasium  romanum.  In  fact,  a  funeral  service  in 
memory  of  Leo  X  w^as  celebrated  in  the  chapel  of  the 
establishment  every  year  until  the  change  of  government 
which  took  place  in  1870. 

When  Paul  III  was  elected  in  1534,  this  happy  state  of 
things  was  already  a  matter  of  the  past.  Leo  had  been  suc- 
ceeded by  the  stern  Dutchman,  Hadrian  VI,  under  whose 
rule  science,  poetry,  fine  arts,  and  culture  in  general  were 
held  in  contempt,  if  not  actually  persecuted.  Hadrian  for- 
tunately reigned  only  seventeen  months,  and  the  nomination 


142  I'M  L    III 

of  anotluT  Medici  in  \Sl'.\  was  hailed  with  deli^lit  by  the 
upper  and  more  relined  classes  of  the  ])opulation.  Clement 
\'ll.  however,  was  destined  to  disa|»{)(»int  tlieir  expectations, 
hecause,  })artlv  from  avarice.  partK  I'loui  his  interference  in 
the  differences  which  had  already  risen  between  Kin<;-  Fran- 
cis I  and  the  Emperor  Charles  V,  he  api)r()})riated  the  reve- 
nues of  the  i»al)ella  del  vino,  allowing-  the  professors  of  the 
Sapien/.a  to  seek  em})loyment  elsewhere.  Then  followed  the 
sack  of  l.")'J7.  diuini;-  which  the  old  professors  were  either 
killed  or  held  to  ransom  or  dispersed.  Paul  III,  only  twenty- 
six  davs  after  his  election,  reopened  the  g'ates  of  the  time- 
honored  institution,  and  offered  the  chair  of  medicine  to  the 
famous  phvsician  of  Gubbio,  Girolamo  Accoramboni,  and 
that  of  surgerv  to  another  great  authority,  Alfonso  Ferri 
from  Naples.  Accoramboni  must  have  declined  the  flatter- 
ing offer,  because  his  name  does  not  appear  among  the 
"  ])rofessores  deputati  a  Paulo  III  ad  legendum  in  Gymnasio 
romano  i)ro  anno  1535,"  in  a  list  that  has  lately  been  dis- 
covered bv  Tacchi-Yenturi  among  the  Farnesian  papers  in 
the  archives  at  Parma.  This  document,  so  important  as  a 
means  of  comparison  with  the  present  state  of  the  University 
of  Rome,  shows  that  in  the  first  year  of  the  reform  of  Paul 
III  onlv  eighteen  lecturers  were  appointed,  of  whom  five 
were  for  the  faculty  of  law,  three  for  each  of  the  other 
faculties.  The  teaching  of  mathematics  was  entrusted  to 
one  professor  only.  The  appropriations  varied  from  a  mini- 
mum of  30  ducats  a  year,  assigned  to  Andrea  da  Montalcino, 
assistant  professor  of  logic,  to  a  maximum  of  300  allotted 
to  Giacomo  Giacomelli,  professor  of  philosophy.  The  same 
university,  recalled  to  life  by  Paul  III  in  1534  under  such 
modest  ausp)ices,  now  numl)ers  a  staff  of  five  hundred  and 
seven  officers,  librarians,  assistants,  professors,  and  teachers 
of  various   grades   and  seniority,  and   three   thousand  five 


PAUL   III 


143 


hundred  students,  probably  four  times  as  many  as  at  the 
thne  of  its  resurrection. 

Paul  III,  overcome  by  age  and  by  the  great  religious 
and  political  controversies  which  were  then  stirring  Italy  and 
Europe,  and  grieved  beyond  measure  at  the  sad  fate  of  some 
of  his  relatives,  died  of  a  violent  fever  on  the  10th  day  of 
November,  15-19,  aged  eighty-one  years,  eight  months,  and 


\'iew  in  the  park  of  Capiarola 

ten  days,  after  a  pontificate  of  fifteen  years  and  twenty- 
eight  days.  He  had  already  promulgated  the  celebration 
of  the  tenth  "anno  santo,"  or  Jubilee  ;  in  fact,  he  is  repre- 
sented in  two  medals,  coined  in  anticipation  of  the  event, 
as  striking  with  the  silver  hammer  the  Porta  Santa,  which, 
however,  he  did  not  open.  Having  died  in  a  villa  on  the 
Quirinal  hill,  his  domestics  carried  his  body  to  St.  Peter's 
without  any  pomp,  in  expectation  of  the  state  funeral,  which 
all  classes  of  citizens  were  wont  to  attend. 

The  memory  of  this  great  pontiff  will  always  be  dear  to 


144  I'ACL    111 

US  Koinans.  Poiiipoiiio  Leto,  Ins  preceptor,  liad  imbued  him 
witli  tlie  spirit  of  Iiumanisui,  aud  imparted  to  him  the  <»ii't 
of  a  i;av  ami  hri^ht  conversation.  He  seemed  to  have 
broui>-lit  hack  witli  liis  advent  to  the  j)ontificate  the  fine  okl 
davs  of  Leo  X,  \\\i\\  a  liii;her  standard  of  morals.  I  may 
also  recall  aujoni;- his  other  traits  that,  like  Michelangelo  and 
Vittoria  Colonna,  the  hero  and  the  heroine  of  my  next  two 
chapters,  he  did  not  despise  the  cultivation  of  poetry  in  lei- 
sure hours  ;  that  he  illustrated  the  "  Epistulae  ad  Atticum  " 
of  Cicero,  and  Avrote  himself  a  beautiful  set  of  epistles 
to  Charles  V,  Francis  I,  Erasmus,  and  Cardinals  Sadoleto 
and  Cortesi.  The  cohi  of  the  value  of  ten  bajocchi  took 
from  him  the  name  of  ^;«o/o,  a  name  Avhicli  common  people 
still  applv  to  the  fifty  centimes  piece  of  the  present  cur- 
rency. We  cannot  forget,  besides,  that  the  Order  of  the 
Jesuits  was  founded  under  his  rule,  perhaps  the  most  im- 
portant event,  next  to  the  Reformation,  in  the  history  of 
the  modern  church. 

Paul  III  was  of  medium  height,  with  a  well-proportioned 
head,  brilliant  eyes,  long  nose,  flowing  beard,  prominent 
lips,  and  slightly  stooping  shoulders.  I  have  described  in 
''Pagan  and  Christian  Rome,"  pp.  245,  246,  the  magnifi- 
cent tomb  raised  to  him  in  St.  Peter's,  on  the  left-hand  side 
of  the  tribune,  where  he  appears  seated  between  the  alle- 
irorical  fijrures  of  Prudence  and  Justice,  the  most  mar- 
vellous  artistic  creations  of  Guglielmo  della  Porta.  This 
mausoleum,  brought  to  completion  in  1575,  stood  originally 
against  one  of  the  piers  of  the  cupola,  now  bearing  the  name 
of  St.  Longinus  ;  but  Urban  VIII,  Barberini,  having  selected 
for  his  own  resting-place  the  niche  on  the  right  hand  of 
the  apse,  caused  the  memorial  to  Paul  III  to  be  transferred, 
for  the  sake  of  symmetry,  to  the  opposite  niche,  in  1628. 
The  columns  and  marbles  used  for  the  decoration  of  both 


PAUL   III  145 

were  taken  from  the  temple  of  the  Sun  in  the  Colonna  gar- 
den on  the  Quirinal.  But  the  best  monument  in  memory  of 
Paul  III  is  the  statue  raised  to  him  on  that  ancient  seat  of 
glory,  the  Capitoline  hill,  by  his  collaborator  in  the  hygienic 
and  material  reform  of  the  city.  Latino  Giovenale  Man- 
netti.  The  inscription  on  the  pedestal  mentions  expressly 
the  fact  that  thanks  to  Paul  III  "  urbs  situ  et  diverticulis 
viarum  deformis  et  impervia,  disiectis  male  positis  aedificiis 
in  meliorem  formam  redacta  est"  (the  city,  disfigured 
and  made  uninhabitable  by  the  narrowness  and  tortuosity 
of  its  alleys,  had  undergone  a  wholesome  transformation). 
The  raising  of  this  beautiful  tribute  of  gratitude  to  Pope 
Farnese,  as  a  reformer  of  the  street  system,  had  probably 
been  suggested  to  Mannetti  by  the  sight  of  another  mon- 
ument wdiich  was  then  preserved  in  the  Capitol :  I  mean  the 
pedestal  dedicated  to  the  Emperor  Vespasian  by  the  people 
of  Rome,  "  quod  vias  urbis  neglegentia  superiorum  tempo- 
rum  corruptas  impensa  sua  restituit,"  —  for  having  reor- 
ganized and  improved  the  street  system  after  the  great  fire 
of  Nero  and  the  civil  war  brought  about  by  Vitellius.^ 
The  fact  of  finding  these  two  great  benefactors  of  the  city, 
Vespasian  and  Paul  III,  honored  on  the  sacred  hill  of 
Saturn,  for  the  same  reason  and  in  the  same  manner,  at  an 
interval  of  fifteen  centuries,  cannot  fail  to  impress  the 
student  of  Roman  history. 

1  The  pedestal  of  Vespasian's  statue,  described  as  "  great  "  by  Poggio  and 
as  "  admirable  "  by  Smet,  bad  been  made  use  of  in  the  middle  ages  to  sustain 
the  third  column  of  the  porch  of  the  Conservatori  palace,  on  the  right  side  of 
the  entrance.  During  the  reconstruction  of  the  same  palace,  which  began  in 
1537,  the  higtorieal  monument  perished,  probably  in  a  lime-kiln. 


CHx\PTER   IV 

MICHELANGELO 

.Mi(  hi:lanc;elo  be^'iin  his  inarvellous  career  as  an  imitator 
of  antiques.  There  Avas  in  the  garden  of  Lorenzo  de' 
Medici,  at  San  Marco  in  Florence,  "  a  sleeping  Cupid  carved 
in  marble  on  a  round  base,"  either  a  Greek  work  of  the 
Alexandrine  school,  or  a  Roman  work  of  the  Imperial 
period.  rei)resenting  the  young  god  lulled  to  sleep  by  the 
sound  of  a  running  brook  or  by  that  of  a  fountain.  The 
artist,  who  had  already  shown  his  appreciation  of  classic 
models  in  the  head  of  the  Faun  (1489),  now  in  the  Museo 
Nazionale  del  Bargello,  in  the  fight  of  the  Lajntluie  and  the 
Centaurs  (1490),  noAv  in  the  Casa  Buonarroti,  and  in  the 
figure  of  Hercules  (1492),  now  lost,  was  especially  pleased 
with  tliis  image  of  the  graceful  son  of  Aphrodite,  and  set 
his  mind  to  reproduce  it.  or  to  imitate  it  with  the  best  of  his 
skill.  Such  reproductions  had  become  popular  in  those  days, 
and  this  one  was  seen  and  praised  beyond  measure  by  the 
Maijnifico  Lorenzo. 

The  sul)sequent  fate  of  the  work  is  uncertain.  It  appears, 
however,  that  the  Cupid  having  been  sold  for  thirty  scudi 
to  the  dealer  Baldassare  del  Milanese,  —  we  do  not  know 
whether  for  a  real  anticpie  or  for  an  imitation,  —  it  was 
offered  by  the  latter  and  resold  as  an  antique  to  Raphael 
Riario,  cardinal  of  San  Giorgio,  who  was  gathering  a  valuable 
collection  of  marbles  in  his  Palazzo  della  Cancelleria.  The 
forgery  having  been  discovered  and  the  contract  cancelled, 
Baldassare  sold  the  Cupid  again,  probably  as  the  work  of 


MICHELANGELO  147 

Michelangelo,  to  Cesar  Borgia,  who  in  turn  made  a  pre- 
sent of  it  to   Guidobaldo  Feltre,  duke  of  Urbino. 

We  meet  here  for  the  first  time  with  the  most  attractive 
type  of  a  Renaissance  lady,  Isabella  d'  Este  Conzaga,  who 
like  so  many  noble  contemporaries,  imbued  with  the  prin- 
ciples of  Humanism,  was  engaged  in  gathering  ancient  and 
modern  works  of  art  for  her  ''  Studio  "  di  Corte  Vecchia. 
Traces  of  her  first  acquaintance  with  Michelangelo  are  to  be 
found  in  a  letter  written  on  June  30, 1502,  to  her  brother. 
Cardinal  Ippolito  I  of  Este.  "^  The  duke  of  Urbino,"  she 
says,  "  had  in  his  castle  a  marble  Venus,  small  but  jDcrfect, 
and  a  Cupid  given  to  him  by  Cesar  Borgia.  Both  pieces 
have  now  fallen  again  into  the  hands  of  the  latter,  since  the 
capture  of  my  brother's  castle  and  the  invasion  of  his 
states.  As  I  am  aware  that  the  invader  is  not  an  admirer 
of  art  and  antiquities,  will  you  kindly  ask  him  to  make  me 
a  present  of  both  marbles?" 

Cardinal  Ippolito  made  such  gallant  haste  in  complying 
with  Isabella's  wish,  that  on  July  21  the  Venus  and  the 
Cupid  were  duly  deposited  in  the  Studio  di  Corte  Vecchia. 
The  next  mention  of  the  young  god  occurs  in  the  inventory 
of  the  Conzao'a  collections  made  in  151:2  :  ^'  .  .  .  and  fur- 
thermore,  a  Cupid  sleeping  on  a  lion's  skin,  attributed  to 
Praxiteles,  placed  on  the  left  side  of  the  window  in  the 
'  Grotta  di  Madama,'  and  a  sleeping  one  of  Carrara  marble, 
carved  by  the  hands  of  Michelangelo,  and  placed  on  the 
opposite  side  of  the  same  window."  We  hear  again  of  both 
in  1573,  when  Jacques  Auguste  du  Tbou,  the  historian  of 
Kings  Henry  III  and  Henry  IV,  visited  Mantua.  Having 
been  shown  first  the  one  by  Michelangelo,  he  found  it  to 
be  far  above  the  praises  which  had  been  bestowed  on  it ; 
but  as  soon  as  he  was  allowed  to  gaze  at  the  other  one,  the 
alleged  work  of  Praxiteles,  which  had  been  momentarily 


14^>  MK  iii:LAy(ij-:LO 

hidden  from  view  with  a  silk  cover,  Dii  Thou  and  his  fellow 
travellers  felt  ashamed  at  their  want  of  discernment,  and 
declared  that  while  the  older  Cupid  was  hrimming  with  life 
the  modern  was  lackuii;' feeliiii;  and  expression.  "  Quelques 
domestiques,"  says  the  author  of  the  '*  Memoires  de  la  vie 
de  J.  A.  du  Thou,"  "  lenr  dirent  (pie  Miehelani;e,  qui  etait 
j)lus  franc  (pie  les  hahiles  gens  coiiime  hii  ne  le  sont  ordi- 
nairenient,  }»ria  instaniment  la  Comtesse  Isahelle,  apres  qu'il 
lui  eut  fait  present  de  son  CiH)idon,  et  tpi'il  ent  vu  I'autre, 


\'it.'W  of  tlie  ducal  j)al;iif  ;it  Mantua,  witli  tin-  bridge  on  tlic  Mincio 

qu'on  ne  montrat  I'ancien  que  le  dernier,  afin  que  les  con- 
naisseurs  pussent  juger  en  le.  voyant,  de  combien  en  ees 
sortes  d'ouvrages  les  anciens  I'emportent  sur  les  modernes." 
The  last  evidence  of  the  permanency  of  both  works  at 
the  Corte  Vecchia  is  the  following  entry  in  the  inventory  of 
1627  :  "  Un  amorin  che  dorme  sopra  un  sasso,  stimato  scudi 
venti  —  un'  altro  amorin  che  dorme  sopra  una  pelle  di  leone 
stimato  scudi  venticinque."  Praxiteles'  work,  therefore,  was 
valued  at   that  time  only  five  scudi  above  that  of  the  Flor- 


MICHELANGELO  149 

entine  artist,  and  both  could  be  obtained  for  the  sum  of 
forty-five  dollars  !  Three  years  after  the  inventory  was  made 
both  Cupids  left  the  land  of  sunshine  and  the  shores  of  the 
sea  which  had  given  birth  to  their  mother  Aphrodite,  to 
undertake  a  long-  and  lonesome  journey  towards  the  land  of 
mists.    The  abductor  was  King  Charles  I. 

Valuable  information  on  the  subject  of  the  king's  artistic 
purchases  in  Italy  can  be  obtained  from  the  correspondence 
exchanged  between  his  agents  Nicholas  Lenier  and  Daniel 
Nys  on  one  side,  Thomas  Carey  and  Sir  John  Coke  on  the 
other.  The  ship  which  was  to  depriv^e  Italy  forever  of  so 
many  treasures  (the  paintings  alone  had  been  sold  for  sixty- 
eight  thousand  scudi,  not  one  quarter  of  their  present  value) 
sailed  from  Venice  on  August  i,  1632,  and  must  have 
reached  its  destination  before  the  equinoctial  storms,  which 
rendered  the  crossing  of  the  Bay  of  Biscay  almost  impos- 
sible after  the  breaking  up  of  the  season.  And  it  is  there, 
on  the  other  side  of  the  Channel,  that  the  Cupid  has  been 
sleeping  for  the  last  three  centuries,  in  deeper  peace  than 
he  enjoyed  at  the  Corte  Vecchia.  The  young  god  has 
vanished  from  the  gaze  of  the  public,  and  keeps  himself 
hidden  in  some  obscure  corner  of  the  British  isles.  All  the 
attempts  lately  made  by  Venturi  and  myself  to  discover  the 
hiding-place  have  proved  fruitless ;  yet  we  cannot  recon- 
cile ourselves  to  the  idea  that  this  charming  souvenir  of 
Michelangelo  and  Isabella  d'  Este  has  perished  ^  forever. 

The  belief  in  the  possibility  of  a  rediscovery  has  been 
strengthened  lately  by  the  unexpected  coming  to  light  of 
another  gem   of  Isabella's  studio,  the  portrait  of  her  son 

1  Michelangelo  came  again  in  contact  with  the  court  of  Mantua  in  1519, 
when  the  Marchese  Federico  wrote  to  his  representative  in  Rome,  Baldas- 
sare  Castiglione,  to  ask  him  or  Raphael  to  prepare  the  design  for  the  tomb 
of  the  marchese's  father. 


!•"><>  M  Kii  i:la.\<;i:l() 

Fi'deiiio  painted  In  Fiantia.  Tlu'  story  of  this  long  lost 
work,  as  given  Ity  Yriarte  in  tlie  '"Gazette  des  IJeaux  Arts," 
ISlMi,  and  l.y  Ventnri  in  tiie  "  Archivio  dell' Arte,"  1888, 
is  as  follows  :  (Jiaii  I'laiiceseo  Conzag'a,  lsal)ella's  luishand, 
having  heen  made  j)risoiit'r  hv  the  Venetians  after  the  defeat 
of  Legnano.  was  set  at  lihcrtv  in  .Tuly,  lolO,  through  the 
inHuenee  of  Julius  II,  on  the  condition  that  his  son  Fed- 
erieo,  aged  ten,  should  be  sent  as  a  hostage  to  the  Pope's 
court.  On  tlu'  way  to  Home  tlie  l)oy  stopj^ed  at  Bologna, 
where  Isabella  eoinniissioned  Lorenzo  Costa,  and  after  Cos- 
ta's refusal  Francesco  Francia,  to  paint  his  portrait.  The 
order  was  executed  and  the  portrait  finished  in  twelve  days, 
much  to  the  satisfaction  of  tlie  sorrowing  mother,  who  de- 
clared it  to  be  a  perfect  work,  and  remunerated  the  artist 
with  the  '•  munificent  gift  "  ^  of  thirty  golden  ducats.  The 
portrait,  it  seems,  was  sent  with  the  hostage  to  the  Vatican, 
to  be  shown  to  Julius  II.  What  became  of  it  after  that 
has  been  a  matter  of  conjecture.  Yriarte  wrote  on  this  sub- 
ject:  "  Ce  ii'est  plus  qu'un  hasard  heureux  qui  j»ourrait 
nous  mettre  un  jour  en  face  de  ce  portrait.  .  .  .  C'est  dans 
I'ensemble  des  collections  de  Charles  P"",  dispersees  dans 
toute  I'Europe,  qu'il  faut  certainement  le  cliercher  :  nous  ne 
dt'sesperons  point  de  pouvoir  I'identifier  un  jour."  "  M. 
Yriarte's  hopes,"  writes  Herbert  Cook,  in  n.  31)28  of  the 
'"  Athenreuni,"  "  have  been  fulfilled.  The  portrait  of  Fed- 
orico  Conzaga  by  Francia  has  been  found  ...  in  an  English 
country  house.  A  few  days  ago  [January,  11)03]  there  ar- 
rived from  Gloucestershire,  from  the  home  of  Mr.  A.  W. 
Lcathani,  for  exhil)ition  at  the  Burlington  Fine  Arts  Clul),a 
portrait  of  a  boy  by  Francia.  Of  its  history  nothing  was 
known,  except  that  the  fatlier  of  the  present  owner  l)ought 
it   from  the  Na])oleon   collection,  and   it  was  supposed   to 

'  Fraiicia's  own  expression. 


^'"'^vr^r'fiiwyT-"-^ ^:.^. 


THE    CEILING    OF    ONE    OF    ISA 

PALACE   . 


llla's   rooms   in   the  ducal 

MANTUA 


MICHELANGELO  151 

represent  one  of  the  Medici.  .  .  .  The  picture  shows  a  boy 
about  ten  years  old,  seen  to  the  waist,  holding-  a  dag-oer  in 
his  right  hand ;  •  .  .  the  long  fair  hair  falls  from  beneath 
a  cap  placed  jauntily  on  the  side  of  the  head."  After  a 
careful  study  of  the  picture  from  the  points  of  view  of 
age,  date,  style,  and  details,  Mr.  Cook  identifies  it  with  the 
long  lost  original  painted  by  Francia  between  July  29  and 
August  10,  1510. 

I  have  mentioned  this  episode  not  only  on  account  of 
its  connection  with  the  subjects  discussed  in  the  present 
chapter,  but  also  because  the  name  and  the  fate  of  Federico 
ought  not  to  be  unknow^n  to  visitors  and  students  of  Re- 
naissance Rome.  This  handsome  youth,  whose  courteous 
demeanor  and  bright,  gay  fellowship  won  for  him  the  favor 
of  the  whole  city,  is  in  fact  the  connecting  link  between 
the  leading  personages  of  my  book,  having  been  befriended 
by  Michelangelo  as  well  as  by  Raphael,  by  Agostino  Chigi, 
and  by  the  future  Pope  Paul  III.  We  may  take  also  for 
granted  that  Vittoria  Colonna,  then  only  twenty  years  of 
age,  and  whose  husband,  the  Marchese  di  Pescara,  had  just 
fallen  into  the  hands  of  Gaston  de  Foix  as  jDrisoner  of 
w^ar,  tendered  him  the  same  hospitality  in  her  ancestral 
palace  by  the  church  of  Santi  Apostoli,  which  she  herself 
was  to  receive  in  her  widowhood  at  the  court  of  Mantua. 
The  youth  must  have  been  possessed  of  extraordinary  win- 
ning powers,  considering  that  even  the  Pope,  a  warrior  of 
uncouth  manners  and  iron  will,  was  w^ont  to  yield  to  his 
wishes  and  to  abide  by  his  directions. 

Stazio  Gadio,  the  youth's  preceptor,  who  kept  Isabella 
informed  almost  daily  of  his  doings,  and  whose  correspond- 
ence was  published  in   188G  by  Alessandro  Luzio,^  relates, 

1  "  Federico  Conzaga  ostaggio   alia  corte   di  Giulio  II,"  in  Archivio  delta 
Societa  Romano  di  Storia  Patria,  vol.  ix,  a.  1886,  pp.  508-582. 


1.VJ 


MICIIKLAXGKLO 


ainoii<>'  other  incidents,  how  the  Pope,  having  been  struck 
down  with  pernicious  fever  wliile  sliootini;*  ])lieasants  in  the 
marshes  of  Ostia  in  the  worst  period  of  the  year  (August 
17-20,  1511),  was  brought  back  to  the  Vatican  in  a  dying 
condition.  Tlic  news  of  the  case  had  ah'eady  thrown  Rome 
into  a  state  of  excitenuMit  if  not  of  actnal  revolt.  The  phy- 
sicians liaving  prescril)ed  a  restorative,  the  lialf-dead  pontiff 
cursed  them  for  tlieir  interference,  roaring  all  the  time, 
"  Buttate  questi  inedici  marrani  dalle  finestre  ! "  Neither 
the  solicitations  of  the  duke  of  Urbino  nor  the  threats 
of  the  bishop  of  Torea  having  sncceeded  in  making  him 
unlock  his  jaws,  the  help  of  Federico  was  sought  as  a  last 
resource,  and  he  succeeded  so  well  in  his  attempt  that  by 
the  end  of  the  month  Julius  II  was  actually  able  to  have 
a  game  of  cards  (giuoco  di  tric-trac)  with  his  favorite,  while 
the  court  orchestra  was  thundering  in  the  next  hall. 

It  seems  that  the  likeness  of  Federico  was  introduced  by 
Raphael  in  the  "School  of  Athens"  at  the  request  of  the 
Pope.  According  to  Vasari's  version,  we  ought  to  identify 
him  with  the  younof  man  bendino;  over  the  hexaoonal  fitrure 
which  Bramante  is  drawing  on  a  slate.  The  opinions  of 
experts,  however,  differ  very  much  on  this  j)oint.^ 

Federico  had  the  honor  of  being  portrayed  once  more  by 
the  divine  artist  after  Isabella  had  been  obliged  to  part 
with  the  original  picture  by  Francia.  This  second  one  was 
begun  in  January,  1513,  the  subject  })osing  in  his  military 
attire,  and  wearing  a  toque  which  his  mother  had  expressly 
sent  from  Mantua.  However,  on  the  19th  of  the  following 
month,  Raphael  made  a  bundle  of  the  costume  and  of  the 
canvas,  and  sent  them  back  to  the  palace  with  the  excuse 
that  he  was  so  worried  and  distracted  by  other  thoughts 
that  he  could  not  possibly  finish  the  work.  The  worry  to 
1  Miiiitz,  Raphael,  Paris,  1886,  p.  34G. 


MICHELANGELO  155 

which  Raphael  alhules  was  the  precarious  state  of  health 
of  Julius  II,  his  friend  and  protector,  who  in  fact  died  the 
day  after  this  letter  was  written. 

As  regards  the  intercourse  between  Federico  iind  Michel- 
angelo, the  letters  of  his  tutor  mention  only  occasional  visits 
to  the  Sixtine  chapel,  —  where  the  artist  was  painting  the 
ceiling,  —  made  in  company  with  Alfonso  d'  Este,  duke  of 
Ferrara.  It  is  not,  however,  of  this  period  in  the  career  of 
the  Florentine  master  that  I  was  speaking,  but  of  his  keen 
appreciation  of  antique  models,  of  which  there  are  still 
other  instances  besides  the  one  mentioned  in  the  opening 
sentences  of  this  chapter. 

The  late  Baron  Liphart,  for  instance,  purchased  in  Flor- 
ence, and  his  heirs  have  removed  to  Russia,  a  bas-relief 
representing  Apollo  and  Marsyas,  copied  from  the  well- 
known  Medicean  cameo.  The  group,  although  imperfect, 
bears  the  stamp  of  the  artist's  primitive  manner.  In  the 
attitude  of  Apollo  we  foresee  that  of  the  David,  while  the 
Marsyas,  with  hands  tied  behind  his  back  and  with  bent 
body,  may  be  taken  as  the  prototype  of  the  many  figures 
of  slaves  which  Michelangelo  placed  around  some  of  his 
tombs. 

Another  characteristic  of  his  early  works  is  that  he  at- 
tacked the  marble  with  the  chisel,  without  the  help  of  a 
sketch  or  of  a  clay  model.  The  marble  was  to  be  his  clay, 
—  a  fact  which  speaks  highly  of  the  tremendous  power 
with  which  the  youth  was  already  endowed.  His  inexpe- 
rience, however,  prevented  success,  and  the  Liphart  group, 
just  mentioned,  marks  another  failure  in  this  audacious  prac- 
tice. By  filing  to  excess  certain  parts  of  Apollo's  body,  so 
as  to  make  the  figure  more  slender  and  graceful,  he  made 
the  god's  silhouette  so  lean  and  feeble  that  he  must  have 
given  up  his  work  in  an  unfinished  state. 


Quite  (littVrent,  on  tlie  other  liaiul,  is  the  treatment  of 
the  nu'clalHon  ie})iesentini;'  ''  La  Madonna  col  Fi<>"lio  e  San 
Giovannino"  owned  by  the  Koyal  Academy,  London.  If 
\vc  add  to  this  alto-rilievo  the  KneeHng  Cupid  of  the  South 
Kensington  Museum,  we  liave  exhausted  tlie  Hst  of  the 
master's  productions  known  to  exist  in  the  British  isles,  — 
because  the  tigure  of  the  Dead  Christ  in  terra-cotta,  exhib- 
ited by  Sir  J.  C  Robinson  in  1889  at  Burlington  House, 
and  attributed  by  its  owner  to  Michelangelo  on  account 
of  its  resemblance  to  the  Pieta  in  St.  Peter's,  has  been  since 
recognized  as  the  work  of  a  Spanish  artist. 

Three  other  early  works  of  Michelangelo  are  less  known 
to  art  students,  —  the  Pieta  of  Palestrina,  the  church  of 
Mar}'  Magdalen,  and  the  Lion  of  Capranica. 

Capranica  is  a  village  perched  on  a  peak  of  the  limestone 
mountains  behind  Palestrina,  twenty-eight  hundred  feet 
above  the  sea,  and  so  named  from  the  goats  [capre),  in 
which  the  district  was  particularly  abundant.  It  owes  its 
fame  to  Domenico  Pantagato,  who  was  made  cardinal  by 
Pope  Martin  V  in  1426  in  recognition  of  his  great  learn- 
ing, and  who,  according  to  the  fashion  of  the  age,  became 
known  in  church  and  literary  circles  as  Domenico  da  Ca- 
pranica. His  nei)hews  and  descendants  were  inscribed  in 
the  golden  book  of  the  Roman  patriciate,  not  as  Pantagati, 
but  as  Di  Capranica,  and  so  the  old  name  was  altogether  for- 
gotten. The  connection  between  the  village,  the  patrician 
family,  and  Michelangelo  is  partly  traditional,  partly  his- 
torical. 

Tradition,  accepted  by  Piazza,  Cecconi,  and  other  local 
chroniclers,  says  that  Michelangelo,  having  purposely  in- 
flicted a  mortal  wound  on  the  model  who  posed  for  him  as 
Christ  on  the  cross,  in  order  to  study  the  play  of  the 
muscles  of  a  dying  man,  and  having  thereby  incurred  the 


MICHELANGELO  1^7 

wrath  of  Leo  X,  fled  first  to  Palestrina,  and  then  to  Ca- 
pranica,  places  which  at  that  time  enjoyed  the  feudal  rights 
of  immunity.    Here  he  whiled  away  the  long  days  of  exile 


* 


WT 

--- 

«"»»^ 

^^ 

1 

1 

l. 

^K 

■^ 


The  house  of  Domenico  da  Capranica,  one  of  the  few  surviving-  specimens 
of  the  Renaissance  domestic  architecture  in  Rome 

by  striking  the  rock  with  his  chisel  and  creating  figures  of 
men  and  beasts ;  and  also  by  designing  and  erecting  a 
beautiful  church  to  a  "  repentant "  saint. 

This  vulgar  story  may  have  originated  from  Vasari's 
hint  about  Michelangelo's  "  skinning  corpses  for  the  sake 
of  anatomical  studies,"  and  from  the  two  sonnets  in  which 
he  prays  for  pardon  of  his  sins.  The  same  story,  at  all 
events,  has  been  told  again  in  regard  to  Guido  Reni's 
famous  Crucifixion  in  the  church  of  San  Lorenzo  in  Lu- 


cina. 


l'">^  MICH  KLAMiKLO 

If  tlie  arrliivt's  of  tlio  (_'(»ii<;i('<;ati()n  of  Sun  Girolaino 
(lella  Carita.  wliitli  were  boiii>lit  by  tlie  Italian  u-overninent 
and  placed  at  the  disposal  of  students  in  187'),  had  not  been 
ki'pt  so  long- in  a  damp  and  uioiddv  place,  and  had  not  been 
robbed  of  their  most  precious  contents  —  for  instance,  the 
record  of  the  trial  of  Beatrice  Cenci — by  a  literary  thief, 
we  eould  satisfy  our  curiosity  on  these  points,  because  the 
Conoreg^ation  acted  as  public  notary  in  all  criminal  cases. 
At  all  events,  even  if  the  tradition  of  Michelano-elo's  fli<i"ht 
to  the  mountains  of  Pneneste  for  this  or  for  any  other 
cause  is  utterly  groundless,  the  fact  remains  that  traces  of 
his  work  are  to  be  seen  in  either  place. 

The  church  of  Mary  Magdalen,  which  he  designed  in  the 
Ionic  style,  and  which  was  very  much  disfigured  in  1750, 
contains  this  inscription  :  "  MDXX.  Julian  Capranica, 
nephew  of  two  cardinals,  both  born  in  this  village,  one  of 
whom  would  have  been  Pope  but  for  an  untimely  death, 
has  raised  this  church  as  a  memorial  to  his  illustrious  kins- 
men." Hewn  out  of  the  living:  rock  on  the  rio-ht  side  of  the 
nave  stands  the  figure  of  a  lion,  holding  the  Capranica 
shield  with  its  forepaws  and  looking  towards  the  entrance 
door  with  its  mouth  open  ;  no  holy  water  has  ever  been 
put  in  the  mouth,  ^  as  intended  by  the  artist,  —  because 
children  are  afraid  to  trust  their  hands  in  the  formidable 
jaws.  The  visitor  is  also  shown  in  the  sacristy  of  the  same 
church  the  profile  of  young  ^Eolus,  —  an  allusion,  perhaps, 
to  the  ex})Osed  location  of  the  village,  —  Avith  the  inscrip- 
tion, MICHAEL  •  A  •  FECIT. 

I  have  been  told  of  the  existence  of  a  third  Avork  by 
the  same  master,  —  a  small  but  jJOAverful  picture  of  Mary 
Magdalen,  Avhich  must  have  been  surre])titiously  done  aAvay 
Avith,  liecause  for  some  years  it  has  not  been  seen  on  the 
feast  of  the  patron  saint,  hung  above  the  entrance  door. 


MICHELANGEL  0 


159 


Tlie  iiiountains  of  Praineste,  where  Michelangelo  is  said  to  have  taken  shelter 
in  the  year  l.'")2U 

111  the  baronial  palace  of  the  Barberini,  built  over  the 
remains  of  the  temple  of  Fortune  at  Palestrina,  we  may 
see  another  and  greater  work  of  art,  sketched  rather  than 
sculptured  in  the  virgin  limestone,  and  representing  the 
descent  from  the  cross.  With  the  exception  of  Antonio 
Nibby,  who  attributes  the  group  to  Bernini,  all  the  his- 
torians of  Palestrina  recognize  it  as  a  powerful  reminder 
of  Michelangelo's  visit  to  their  city. 

Besides  the  great  works  of  architecture,  painting,  and 
sculpture,  too  well  known  to  be  mentioned  in  a  book  of 
this  kind,  Michelangelo  has  left  other  traces  of  his  artistic 
life  in  Rome,  not  less  interesting  because  they  are  less 
spoken  of.  Such,  for  instance,  are  the  bridge  of  Santa 
Maria,  the  square  and  palaces  of  the  Capitol,  and  the  bas- 
tion of  the  Belvedere.  And  here  I  must  observe,  that  if 
he  found  himself  exposed  occasionally  to  the  conflicting 
influences  of  the  court,   to   the  machinations  of  rivals  and 


1<>0  MirilKLAXdKLO 

enemies,  and  to  the  useendancy  gained  by  the  Sangallist 
party  over  Paul  III  and  by  the  party  of  Vionola over  Julius 
III,  the  trust,  the  admiration,  the  all'ection  of  the  people  of 
Ivome.  rei)resented  by  its  municipal  magistrates,  never  suf- 
fered change  or  diminution.  Whenever  I  have  found  his 
name  mentioned  in  the  minutes  of  the  meetinos  of  the 
City  Council,  it  seems  as  if  the  usually  rude  and  g'rulf  style 
of  the  scribe  assumes  a  kinder  tone  and  searches  for  more 
polished  phrases. 

The  shower  of  gold  which  fell  on  the  "  Grande  Mendica  " 
at  each  return  of  the  Jubilee  was,  as  I  have  remarked  in 
the  preceding  chapters,  the  only  inducement  capable  of 
rousing  the  state  and  the  municipality  from  their  constitu- 
tional torpor  as  regards  the  accomi)lishment  of  works  of 
public  utility.  On  these  occasions  Michelangelo  was  ap- 
pealed to  for  help  and  advice.  In  the  sitting  of  the  Council 
of  July  27,  15J:8,  Battista  Teodorini,  the  chief  magistrate, 
announced  the  will  of  Paul  III,  that  the  Ponte  di  Santa 
Maria  —  the  old  iEmilian  bridge  —  should  be  repaired  for 
the  coming  Jubilee.  To  meet  the  heavy  charge  thus  imposed 
upon  them,  the  Council  resolved  to  levy  a  special  tax  on 
the  leading  bankers,  the  Ruspoli,  the  Odescalchi,  the  01- 
giate,  the  Cavalieri,  etc.,  and  also  on  seventy-seven  g-rocers 
and  apothecaries ;  and  in  order  that  the  money  should  be 
spent  "  wisely  and  honorably,"  under  a  "  vigilant  eye," 
they  appealed  to  Michelangelo,  "  homo  singularisshno," 
whose  genius  and  integrity  had  been  commended  by  the 
Pope  himself.  The  artist  consented  and  set  to  work  at  once, 
with  the  view  of  strengthening  the  foundations  of  the  bridge  ; 
but  the  prelates  appointed  by  the  Pope  to  hasten  the  prepa- 
rations for  the  Jubilee  grew  impatient  at  what  they  consid- 
ered to  be  an  excessive  caution  on  the  part  of  the  architect, 
and  at  last  they  took  away  his  commission  and  put  Nanni 


MICHELANGELO 


161 


di  Baccio  Bigio  in  his  place.  Retribution  was  not  long  in 
coming.  The  bridge  finished  in  haste  by  Nanni  was  swept 
away  by  the  next  inundation  (September  15,  1557).  Hav- 
ing been  built  again  for  the  Jubilee  of  1575,  it  collapsed 
in  the  inundation  of  1598.  The  present  generation  has 
substituted  for  the  old  bridge  a  structure  so  clumsy  and 
grotesque  in  outline  that  we  cannot  help  expressing  the 
hope  that  it  may  soon  share  the  fate  of  its  predecessors. 

We  find  the  master  interested  also  in  the  column  of  Tra- 
jan, not  so  much  from  an  appreciation  of  its  archseological 


The  enclosure  round  the  pedestal  of  Trajan's  column,  built  in  accordance  with 
Michelangelo's  suggestion  in  1575 

value,  as  for  the  sake  of  his  own  health.  It  seems  that  on 
the  occasion  of  the  advent  of  Charles  V  in  1536,  Paul  III 
not  only  had  removed  from  the  pillar  the  ignoble  structures 
which  concealed  its  lower  half,  such  as  the  church  of  San 
Nicolao  de  Columna,  the  belfry  of  the  monastery  of  the 
Spirito  Santo,  and  the  house  of  the  Delia  Vetera  family,  but 
had  laid  bare  the  pedestal  down  to  the  level  of  the  old 
Forum.     The  cavity  became  a  receptacle  for  the  refuse  of 


K5-  ji/(I//:la.\<;/':l() 

the  iii'ii^liliorhood,  s(»  tliat  Paul  III,  "ad  provideiKliim  (jiiod 
tlirta  coliunna  iiniminditiis  et  spuroitiis  iion  t'oodaretur  "  (to 
provide  against  the  afcuinulatioii  of  filth),  ])ut  the  excava- 
tion in  chai^-e  of  the  Delia  Vetera  family,  the  head  of 
which  assumed  heneeforth  the  title  of  ""  custode  della  Co- 
lonna."  These  people  accepted  the  salary  without  the  least 
concern  for  the  duties  attaelied  to  it.  The  condition  of  the 
place  went  from  bad  to  worse,  and  the  neighborini;-  houses 
became  so  infected  with  the  obnoxious  emanati(jns  that 
Michelang-elo,  one  of  the  nearest  sufferers,  took  up  the  case 
and  presented  a  design  to  the  Town  Council  for  enclosing 
the  excavation  with  an  ornamental  wall.  The  proposal  was 
accompanied  by  a  declaration  of  his  willingness  to  share 
one  half  of  the  expense.  By  eighty-six  votes  against  four 
the  Council  accepted  the  suggestion  in  the  sitting  of  August 
27.  l')i)S,  but,  in  spite  of  the  overwhelming  majority,  that 
cavity  continued  to  taint  the  district  up  to  the  Jubilee  of 
1575. 

The  Bastione  di  Belvedere,  which  towers  in  frowninsf 
greatness  at  the  northeast  end  of  the  Vatican  gardens,  and 
commands  the  approach  to  theBorgo  from  the  upper  valley 
of  the  Til)er,was  beoun  bv  Antonio  da  Sano-allo  the  youno-er, 
and  finished  by  Michelangelo  after  Antonio's  death,  which 
took  place  on  September  30,  154().  This  great  piece  of 
military  engineering  must  not  be  considered  by  itself,  but 
as  part  of  a  great  scheme  conceived  by  Paul  III  to  protect 
the  city  against  a  hostile  invasion  from  the  sea.  The  Pope 
could  not  forget  that  on  August  20,  1534,  the  fleet  of  the 
infidels,  commanded  by  Barbarossa,  had  cast  anchor  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Tiber  to  renew  its  supply  of  water,  and  that, 
if  its  leaders  had  thought  of  it,  they  could  have  stormed 
and  sacked  and  plundered  the  city,  and  carried  the  Pope 
himself  into  slavery,  without  any  possibility  of  defence  on 


MICHELANGELO  163 

the  Christian  side.  This  point  has  not  been  taken  into  due 
consideration  by  modern  writers  ;  the  fortifications  of  Rome, 
desig-ned  or  beo-un  or  finished  at  the  time  of  Paul  III,  have 
nothing-  to  do  with  the  sack  of  1527,  with  the  Connetable 
de  Bourbon  or  King  Charles ;  all  the  bastions,  that  of  the 
Belvedere  excepted,  point  towards  the  seacoast,  which  was 
constantly  harassed  and  terrified  by  Turkish  or  Barbary 
pirates.  These  would  appear  with  lightning-like  rapidity, 
in  more  than  one  place  at  a  time,  and  carry  off  in  chains 
as  many  unfortunate  men,  women,  and  children  as  they 
could  lay  hands  upon.  One  of  the  worst  records  of  the  kind 
is  the  landing  of  three  Algerian  privateers  at  Pratica  di 
Mare,  on  May  5,  1588,  almost  within  sight  of  Rome.  The 
pirates  took  the  villagers  unawares  while  peacefully  attend- 
ing to  their  fields  or  to  their  cattle,  and  carried  into  captivity 
thirty-nine  men,  twenty-eight  women,  and  thirty-five  hired 
farm-hands,  mostly  from  the  Marca  d'  Ancona.  To  prevent 
the  recurrence  of  such  disasters,  the  seacoast  was  then  lined 
with  watch-towers,  the  guns  of  which  could  warn  the  pea- 
sants of  the  approach  of  suspicious  sails. 

Sangallo's  plan  for  the  defence  of  Rome  included  the 
demolition  of  certain  parts  of  the  Aurelian  walls  and  the 
construction  of  a  new  line  on  a  more  strategical  basis,  with 
eighteen  bastions  and  tAVO  citadels,  that  of  Sant'  Angelo 
and  another  at  the  Lateran  at  the  east  end  of  the  city.  Of 
this  great  scheme,  begun  by  Paul  III  and  abandoned  by  his 
successors,  we  have  interesting  remains  in  the  Bastione  del 
Priorato  on  the  Aventine,  in  the  Bastione  dell'  Antoniana, 
behind  the  baths  of  Caracalla,  and  in  the  walls  behind  the 
Vatican,  of  which  the  Bastione  di  Belvedere  is  the  most 
imposing  part.  We  must  remember  that  in  those  days  the 
casino  of  the  Belvedere  of  Innocent  VIII  was  not  connected 
with  the  Vatican  palace  by  what  we  now  call  the  corridor 


I(i4  MK  iii:LAy(ii:L() 

of  till.'  Tapostru's  and  tlu'  CJalleiia  de'  Caiulelabri.  The 
casino  stood  bv  itself  on  a  si)ur  of  the  ridge  called  Monte 
dei^li  Spinelli,  and  contained  the  most  celebrated  statues  yet 
found  in  Koine, —  the  Nile,  the  Tiber,  the  Laocoon,  the 
Apollo,  tlie  Cleopatra,  the  Ilercnles,  and  the  Torso,  —  set 
uj>  in  niches  of  verdure,  in  a  grove  of  lemon-trees. 

It  was  probably  the  desire  to  ])lace  these  treasures  out  of 
reach  of  danger  that  suggested  the  advisability  of  fortifying 
the  Belvedere  in  preference  to  other  sections  of  the  Vatican 
gardens.  Tt  must  have  been  a  bitter  disappointment  to 
Michelangelo,  whose  works  of  defence  at  Florence  (1529) 
had  made  him  the  leader  of  military  architects,  to  see  the 
work  entrusted  to  his  rival  Antonio;  but  he  did  not  give 
way  to  recriminations,  at  least  before  the  Pope  and  the 
public,  and  kept  his  own  counsel,  waiting  patiently  for  his 
chance.  A  })assage  in  Antonio's  life  by  Vasari  seems  to 
hint  at  a  revenire  taken  after  his  death.  "  While  Paul  III 
was  building  the  new  bastions,"  he  says,  "  Antonio  began 
also  the  gate  of  Santo  Spirito,  a  splendid  stone  structure 
cou])ling  strength  with  beauty  of  design.  After  his  death, 
however,  some  one  tried  to  have  the  gate  demolished,  but 
the  Pope  would  not  hear  of  it."  Was  this  some  one  Michel- 
angelo, or  another  member  of  the  c(mimittee  on  the  forti- 
fications? There  were  many  of  them,  and  all  eager  to  have 
their  authority  felt,  —  the  ])resident.  Cardinal  Tiberio  Crispo, 
governor  of  the  castle  of  Sant'  Angelo;  Captain  Gianfran- 
cesco  Montemellino,  military  engineer ;  Alessandro  Vitelli, 
.strategist ;  Vincenzo  Gioardi,  artilleryman,  and  others,  — 
but  I  do  not  think  Michelangelo  capable  of  so  mean  an 
action  as  to  have  suggested  the  demolition  or  the  disfigure- 
ment of  a  work  of  art,  which  we  still  admire  in  spite  of 
its  unfinished  state.  What  I  cannot  understand,  however, 
is  h(jw  he  could   have  accepted  such   an   inferior  position 


MICHELANGELO  165 

as  the  one  offered  to  him  after  Sangallo's  death.  It  was 
not  he,  the  '' excellentissmio "  and  the  "divino,"  but  the 
intriguing"  Jaeopo  Meleghino  wlio  was  given  the  direction 
of  the  work,  with  Michelangelo  for  assistant,  or  "giovine  "  ! 
To  understand  the  strangeness  of  such  an  arrangement,  we 
must  remember  who  Meleghino  was,  and  by  what  artful 
means  he  had  succeeded  in  winning  the  favor  of  Paul  III. 

Born  at  Ferrara  in  the  third  quarter  of  the  fifteenth  cen- 
tury, he  had  entered  the  service  of  the  future  Pope  during 
his  administration  of  the  see  of  Parma,  not  as  "  staffiere," 
or  valet,  as  Milizia  asserts  him  to  have  been,  forgetting  that 
he  w\as  of  noble  descent,  but  as  an  auditor  or  accountant. 
And  when  Cardinal  Alessandro  was  exalted  to  the  throne, 
in  1534,  Meleghino  was  first  named  keeper  of  the  antiques 
collected  in  the  garden  of  the  Belvedere,  and  later  general 
accountant  of  the  Reverenda  Fabbrica  di  San  Pietro.  It  is 
possible  that  being  brought  in  contact  with  the  marvels  of 
ancient  art  in  the  Belvedere,  and  into  familiarity  with  the 
great  men  engaged  in  the  rebuilding  of  St.  Peter's,  he  may 
have  gained  a  certain  aptitude  and  a  certain  fame,  especially 
after  inheriting  a  considerable  part  of  the  designs  and  car- 
toons of  Baldassare  Peruzzi,  whom  he  had  nursed  in  his 
last  illness  by  command  of  the  Pope.^  This  sentiment  of 
admiration  was  not  shared,  at  all  events,  by  Sangallo,  who 
once  called  him  to  his  face  "  architetto  da  motteggio,"  nor 
by  Vasari,  who  denies  his  comj^etency  in  architecture,  and 
attributes  to  him  an  injudicious  mind.  And  yet  to  this  cour- 
tier was  given  the  succession  of  Antonio  as  "  architectore 
della  fortificatione  di  Borgho,"  with  the  same  monthly  salary 

1  One  of  the  sketch-books  of  Baldassare,  now  in  the  municipal  library  at 
Siena,  bears  the  following  autograph:  "Given  by  nie,  Baldassare  Peruzzi,  to 
Messer  Jaeopo  Meleghino  and  Messer  Pier  Antonio  Salimbeni."  The  rest  of 
the  drawings  and  papers  were  inherited  by  his  son  Sallustio.  They  are  now 
preserved  in  the  Gabinetto  delle  Stampe  e  Disegni  of  the  Uffizi,  Florence. 


KK)  MK  lIHLASdKLO 

ot"  t\v»'iitv-fiv('  sciidi  ;  and  MiclH'lant»'('l<),  the  proudest  man 
ot"  the  :ii;t'.  a((('i>ti'd  the  place  of  '*  ra<»azzo  "  or  assistant  to 
him.  ( \>iitt'iii|>()raiv  writers  wonder  at  this  preposterous  state 
(d"  tilings.  A  K'tttT  addressed  hy  Prospero  Moehi  (tlie  sur- 
vivor of  tlie  works  of  fortification)  to  Pier  Lui«»i  Farnese, 
ii('j)h('w  of  tlu'  Po))e,  on  March  2,  1547,'  informs  us  that 
while  oflicially  Michclang'elo  was  subjected  "  stava  a  obedi- 
cutia*'  to  Meleghino,  practically  he  had  the  absolute  and 
iiuh'jHMident  management  of  the  works. 

The  Bastione  di  Belvedere  was  finished  in  March,  1548. 
Miclidang-elo  disappears  from  the  scene  as  a  military  archi- 
tect, and  the  task  of  completing-  the  fortifications  of  the 
Borgo  is  g-iven  to  Jacopo  Fusti  Castriotto  from  Urbino,  the 
designer  of  the  fortresses  of  Sermoneta,  Paliano,  Anagni, 
and  Cahiis.  Poor  Meleghino  ended  his  career  as  those 
generally  do  whom  fortune  exalts  capriciously  above  their 
proper  station  in  life.  Deprived  of  his  appointments  at  the 
death  of  Paul  III,  and  reduced  to  penury,  he  sought  the  help 
of  Cardinal  Ippolito  d'  Este,  and,  having  entered  the  priest- 
hood, was  appointed  incumbent  of  the  parish  of  San  Cris- 
toforo  di  Campignano  in  the  diocese  of  Perugia.  The  date 
and  place  of  his  death  remain  uidvnown  to  the  present  day. 
We  have  just  seen  that  Michelangelo  had  accepted  an 
inferior  position,  knowing  very  well  that  Paul  III  trusted 
him  alone,  and  would  be  ready  to  sanction  any  measure  ad- 
vocated by  him,  with  or  without  the  api)roval  of  JNIeleghino. 
Michelangelo  was  not  an  easy  man  to  deal  with;  the  motto 
of  the  noblest  of  Roman  families,  "  Columna  flecti  nescio," 
ought  to  have  been  his.  Such  was  the  experience  under- 
gone by  the  de^juties  of  the  Fabbrica  di  San  Pietro  after  his 
appointment  to  the  direction  of  the  work  on  January  1, 

'  Quoted  by  Rocchi,  at  page  280  of  his  beautiful  work,  Le  p'mnte  icoiiocjrd- 
Jiche  e  prospetliche  di  Roma  nel  secolo  XVI.  1902. 


MICHELANGELO  1(37 

1547.  If  tliey  had  expected  to  find  him  a  man  of  the  same 
gentle  temper  as  were  his  jjredeeessors,  Raphael,  Fra  Gio- 
eondo,  and  Baldassare  Peruzzi,  they  soon  realized  their  mis- 
take.   A  document  in  MSS.  H,  ii,  22  of  the  Chigi  Library, 


i    I  w    t 


<f.-. 


The  Belvedere  of  Innocent  VIII,  from  a  sketch  by  Martin  Heemskerk  made  in  15^6, 
seven  years  before  the  beginning-  of  the  fortifications  by  Michehiiigelo 

already  published  by  Fea,  contains  the  following  candid 
acknowledgment  of  the  state  of  affairs  on  the  part  of  the 
poor  deputies  :  — 

"  From  the  year  151:0,  when  the  rebuilding  of  St.  Peter's 
was  resumed  with  new  vigor,  to  the  year  1517,  when  Michel- 
angelo began  to  do  and  undo,  to  destroy  and  rebuild  at  his 
own  will,  we  have  spent  162,(321:  ducats.  From  1547  to  the 
present  day  (1555),  during  which  time  we  deputies  of  the 
Fabbrica  have  counted  absolutely  for  nothing,  and  have 
been  kept  by  Michelangelo  in  absolute  ignorance  of  his 
plans  and  doings,  —  because  such  was  the  will  of  the  late 
Pope  Paul  III,  and  of  the  reigning  one  (Julius  III), —  the  ex- 
pense has  reached  the  total  of  136,881  ducats.  As  regards 
the  progress  and  the  designs  and  the  prospects  of  the  new 
basilica,  the    dej^uties    know  nothing  whatever,  Michelan- 


IGS  mi(Iii:l.\.\(ii:l() 

•••flit  (it'>|)i>iiiL;  tlu'in  worse  than  it"  they  were  outsiders.  They 
must,  li(»\\evt'r,  make  the  followiuo-  declaratiou  to  ease  their 
(•(niscieiice  :  tliev  highly  (lisai)prove  Michelangelo's  methods, 
especially  in  demolishing'  and  destroying  the  work  of  his 
predecessors.  This  mania  of  pulling  to  pieces  what  has 
heeii  already  erected  at  such  enormous  cost  is  criticised  by 
everybody  ;  however,  if  the  Pope  is  pleased  with  it,  we  have 
nothino"  to  sav." 

T  do  not  think  that  greater  praise  has  ever  been  bestowed 
on  the  "divine  artist"  than  that  which  these  disconso- 
late deputies  unconsciously  attribute  to  him.  Any  reader 
conversant  with  Baron  Geymiiller's  "  Les  projets  pour  la 
Basilique  de  St.  Pierre,"  with  the  set  of  engravings  in 
Salamanca,  —  Lafreri's  "  Speculum  Romanae  magnificen- 
tiae,"  —  with  Martin  Heemskerk's  sketches,  and  other  such 
documentary  evidence,  must  be  ready  to  acknowledge  that, 
had  the  patchwork  put  together  by  Sangallo,  Bramante,  Fra 
Giocondo,  Peruzzi,  and  Labacco  been  allowed  to  stand,  St. 
Peter's  would  a])pear  to  us  now  under  a  worse  garb  than 
yEsop's  crow.  Michelangelo  had  already  conceived  the  glo- 
rious outline  of  the  cupola  which  was  to  be  raised  to  double 
the  height  of  the  dome  of  the  Pantheon  ;  he  could  already 
see  the  gilt  angel  Avith  outspread  Avings  soaring  in  the  pure 
Roman  sky  above  the  globe  which  now  supports  the  cross  ; 
and  as  Bramante's  pilasters  were  obviously  inadequate  to 
stand  the  weight,  he  destroyed  whatever  obstacle  l)arred  his 
way,  to  the  great  mortification  of  the  Fabbricieri,  who  could 
thiidv  only  of  the  financial  side  of  the  case ;  and  when  Car- 
dinal Cervini,  the  future  Pope  Marcel  II,  once  attempted 
to  remonstrate,  the  man  of  iron  gave  this  answer :  "  I  am 
not,  and  will  not  be,  obliged  to  tell  either  you  or  any  of 
the  deputies  what  I  expect  to  do.  Your  only  business  is  to 
collect  and  administer  the  funds,  and  see  that  they  are  not 


I 


MICHELANGELO  171 

squandered  or  stolen  ;  as  regards  plans  and  designs,  leave 
that  care  to  me." 

It  seems  that  the  overseers  of  the  buildina'  were  not  above 
accepting  bribes  from  the  various  contractors,  and  that  they 
would  occasionally  shut  their  eyes  just  when  their  fullest 
vigilance  was  required.  On  one  of  these  occasions  Michel- 
ano-elo  Avrote  them  the  f  olio  win  o-  letter  :  — 

"  To  the  overseers  of  the  Fabbrica  di  San  Pietro.  You 
know  very  well  I  told  Balduccio  not  to  send  the  supply  of 
lime  [cement]  unless  of  the  first  quality.  The  fact  that  he 
has  sent  a  very  inferior  article  and  that  you  have  accepted 
it  makes  me  suspect  that  you  must  have  come  to  an  under- 
standing with  him.  Those  who  accept  supplies  which  I 
have  refused  connive  with  and  make  friends  of  my  enemies. 
All  these  pourboires  and  presents  and  inducements  corrupt 
the  true  sense  of  justice.  I  beg  of  you,  therefore,  in  the 
name  of  the  authority  with  which  I  have  been  invested  by 
the  Pope,  not  to  accept  henceforth  any  building  materials 
that  are  not  perfect,  even  if  they  come  from  heaven " 
(se  ben  la  venissi  dal  cielo). 

There  is  no  doubt  that  such  stern  inflexibility  of  charac- 
ter, united  with  the  consciousness  of  his  own  artistic  value 
and  with  an  undisguised  disgust  at  the  intrigues  and  corrup- 
tion of  the  people  by  whom  he  was  officially  surrounded, 
must  have  embittered  the  feelings  of  many,  and  actually  put 
his  life  in  danger.  Those  were  times  when  every  artist  car- 
ried, as  it  were,  his  life  at  the  point  of  his  sword,  which  he 
must  be  ready  to  unsheathe  at  the  least  suspicion  of  offence ; 
for  this  reason  there  is  more  to  learn  about  artists,  their 
work,  and  their  career,  in  the  reports  of  the  criminal  courts, 
than  in  any  other  set  of  contemporary  documents. 

To  illustrate  this  point,  so  characteristic  of  artist  life  in 
Rome  in  the  sixteenth  century,  I  translate  from  the  original 


miiiutt'.N  ol'  tlic  N(»t;iro  dei  Malcti/.ii  tlie  following- particuLars 
i-oiu'crniiiir  tlie  imirdfr  ot  oiu'  ot"  Miclielanjifelo's  friends  and 
fallow  workers,  Bartolomeo  Ha  r(  mi  no. 

Born  at  Casal  Monferrato,  Baronino  had  come  to  Rome 
quite  younc;,  in  search  of  fame  and  fortune  ;  and  fortune 
must  have  been  ready  to  smile  upon  him,  as  we  find  him 
Sotto-maestro  delle  Strade  at  twenty-five  years  of  age,  gen- 
eral contractor  for  the  paving  of  the  streets  at  thirty-one, 
a  protege  of  Paul  III  at  thirty-three,  his  adviser  in  the 
famous  meeting  of  Busseto  in  1543,  when  he  received  from 
the  Emperor  Chailes  V  himself  the  insignia  of  count  pala- 
tine, and  assistant  to  Michelangelo  in  the  works  of  the  Far- 
nese  palace  in  1549. 

After  the  death  of  Paul  III,  Julius  III  entrusted  Baro- 
nino with  the  superintendence  of  the  building  of  the  Villa 
Giulia,  in  which  Michelangelo  himself,  Bartolomeo  Am- 
mannati,  Giorgio  Vasari,  and  Giacomo  Barrozzi  da  Vignola 
also  took  a  leading  share. 

The  fate  that  befell  Baronino  towards  sunset  on  the  4th 
day  of  September,  1554,  is  best  told  by  an  eye-witness, 
Genesio  Bersano,  from  Piacenza,  in  the  evidence  given  at 
the  inquest  held  at  the  deathbed  of  the  victim. 

"This  afternoon,  an  hour  before  sunset,  Baronino  and 
I,  having  taken  supper  in  the  hostelry  adjoining  his  vine- 
yard, came  to  the  fountain  at  the  corner  of  the  Via  Fla- 
minia,  where  we  were  joined  by  Riccio,  the  head  gardener, 
and  other  workmen.  On  parting  comjDany,  past  the  church 
of  San  Giacomo  degli  Incurabili,  and  just  while  we  were 
rounding  the  corner  of  the  house  of  the  Provveditori  di 
Castello,  I  heard  footsteps  behind  us,  as  if  some  one  was 
making  haste  to  overtake  us.  There  were  two  men  ;  the 
taller  of  the  two  caught  Baronino  l)y  the  right  arm  and 
struck  him  with    a  poniard   on  the   left  side.    I  ran  to  the 


MICHELANGELO 


173 


assistance  of  my  friend,  crying,  '  You  traitor  ! '  but  at  that 
moment  the  accomplice  caused  me  to  trip  and  fall  head- 
long- on  the  pavement,  while  the  wounded  man  was  seeking 
shelter  in  the  house  opposite,  the  door  of  which  happened 
to  stand  ajar.  The  murderers  ran  away  in  the  direction  of 
the  Piazza  dell'  Ortaccio  [now  called  di  Monte  d'  Oro] .  We 
had  seen  both  of  them  while  eating  in  the  hostelry  by  the 
Villa  Giulia ;  in  fact  I  re- 
member that  on  leaving  the 
place  Baronino  wished  them 
a  good  appetite,  a  greeting 
which  I  believe  they  left 
unanswered.  Yes,  I  could 
easily  recognize  the  mur- 
derer from  his  black  beard 
and  heavy  brows,  but  not 
his  accomplice." 

The  officer  tried  to  ques- 
tion the  dying  man  at  once, 
but  he  received  no  answer. 
The  second  attempt,  on  the 
f  oUowinof-  mornino-.  was  more 
successful.  Baronino  said 
that  he  had  certainly  recog- 
nized in  both  his  murderers 
the  men  he  had  greeted  in  leaving  the  hostelry ;  both,  how- 
ever, were  unknown  to  him.  "  I  am  not  aware,"  he  said, 
"  of  any  enemy  or  rival,  but  I  cannot  help  suspecting 
Giovanni  Antonio,  the  antiquarian,  who  has  been  haunting 
the  Villa  Giulia  of  late,  in  the  hope  of  selling  some  of  his 
marbles  to  his  Holiness.  I  know  him  to  be  a  bad  man,  and 
badly  prejudiced  against  me,  as  if  I  had  been  influencing 
the  Pope  not  to  listen  to  his  proposals." 


The  bust  of  Bartolonieo  Baronino  in  the 
Palazzo  de'  Conservatori 


1  .  I  Mli  llELAycElJ) 

(iiovaiuil  Antonio  Stanipa,  tlic  suspt'ctetl  anticjuaiian,  was 
sul>i»'ctt'(l  to  tlu'  torture,  without  elit-itini;-  from  liini  any 
acknow  Ifdi^iiicnt  ol  i;"uilt.  Susjiicion  tell  also  on  Giaeoiuo 
I^uro/./i  (la  \  ii;iiola  :  Itiit  it'  the  police  oF.Iiilius  III  did  not 
sufcet'd  in  hriui^ing"  the  criuje  home  to  any  one  at  the  time 
it  was  committed,  it  would  be  useless  for  us  to  investigate 
the  matter  further,  after  such  a  lapse  of  time.  Baronino's 
lMi>t  lia>  Itet'u  ])la('e(l  a m on g' those  of  eminent  Italians  in  the 
rrotomothcca  of  the  ra[)it()l. 

In  descrihini;-  Michelangelo's  transformation  of  the  central 
hall  of  the  baths  of  Diocletian  into  the  church  of  the  Ma- 
donna deoli  Angeli,  Vasari  savs  that  the  great  master  did 
not  disdain  occasionally  to  undertake  works  of  minor  impor- 
tance, such  as  now  fall  into  the  domain  of  industrial  art. 
He  furnished,  in  fact,  the  desig'u  for  the  ciborium  of  the 
Blessed  Sacrament  in  the  same  church,  cast  in  metal  by 
Giacomo  del  Duca  and  inlaid  with  precious  stones  by  Gio- 
vanni Bernardi  da  Castel  Bolognese.  This  beautiful  object, 
known  by  the  name  of  "  Ciborio  Farnesiano,"  because  it 
was  designed  and  cast  at  the  expense  of  Cardinal  Alessandro, 
is  n(jw  exhibited  in  the  Museo  Nazionale  at  Naples,  but 
without  the  intaglios  and  the  small  columns  of  lapis  lazuli, 
stolen.  I  believe,  at  the  time  of  the  first  French  invasion. 
Vasari  could  have  mentioned  other  productions  of  the  gold- 
smith's art,  made  from  the  designs  of  Michelangelo.  Such 
Svas  the  dinner  service  descril)ed  in  a  despatch  (July^,  1537) 
of  Girolamo  Staccoli  to  the  duke  of  Urbino,  whose  interests 
he  re])resented  in  Rome.  The  original  sketch  of  the  central 
piece,  showing  an  oval  vase  with  masks  and  festoons  round 
the  body,  and  a  figure  in  full  relief  on  the  cover,  found  its 
way  into  the  Fountaine  collection,  and  later  (1884)  into 
that  of  Sir  J.  C.  Robinson.  We  do  not  know  whether  this 
beautiful  service  is  still   in   existence,  or  whether  it  disap- 


THE    FALL    OF    PHAETHON    INTO    THE    RIVER    ERIDANUS 

From  a  cartoon  by  Michelangelo,  engraved  by  Beatrizet 


MICHELANGELO  177 

peared  in  the  crucible  of  an  eighteenth  century  goldsmith. 
If  it  still  exists,  we  ought  to  find  traces  of  it  in  the  "guar- 
daroba "  of  the  ex-grand  dukes  of  Tuscany,  on  account  of 
the  marriage  to  the  grand  duke  Francis  II  of  Vittoria, 
daugfhter  of  Francesco  Maria  II,  the  sole  heiress  and  the 
last  representative  of  the  house  of  Urbino. 

Documents  lately  discovered  in  the  archives  of  the  Vati- 
can throw  light  on  another  peculiarity  of  Michelangelo's 
character.  Whenever  the  apostolic  treasury  was  laboring 
under  difficulties  and  could  not  meet  its  obligations  in  ready 
money,  the  artist  was  always  willing  to  accept  any  transac- 
tion that  would  satisfy  the  Pope  without  endangering  his 
own  interests.  When  he  undertook,  for  instance,  the  paint- 
ing of  the  "  Last  Judgment  "  in  the  Sixtine  chapel,  Clement 
VII  promised  him  a  remuneration  of  twelve  hundred  scudi 
a  year  during  his  lifetime.  I  do  not  know  whether  the 
negligence  of  the  treasury  in  meeting  this  engagement  had 
the  effect  of  disheartening  the  artist ;  the  fact  is  that  at  the 
death  of  Clement  VII  in  1534  the  "  Last  Judgment "  was 
not  begun.  Paul  III,  however,  won  back  the  good  will  of 
Michelangelo,  and  by  renewing  the  promise  of  the  twelve 
hundred  a  year  settled  the  financial  side  of  the  question. 
The  promise  is  expressed  in  a  letter  addressed  by  the  pontiff 
on  September  1,  1535,  "  dilecto  filio  Michelangelo  de  Bo- 
narotis  patritio  Florentino,"  in  which  he  says  that  half  of 
the  yearly  allowance,  viz.,  six  hundred  scudi,  would  be 
paid  in  cash ;  for  the  other  half  he  was  given  a  life  interest 
in  the  revenue  of  the  ferry  of  the  river  Po  between  Piacenza 
and  Codoono.  Who  would  ever  have  thouoht  of  Michel- 
angelo  owning  a  ferryboat  on  the  mighty  river  of  the 
North  !  I  wonder  if  this  unexpected  connection  with  the 
old  Eridanus  gave  him  the  inspirations  for  the  powerful 
composition  of  the  "  Fall  of  Phaethon  "  into  that  stream,  of 


1  .S  M K  II I.I.ASHKLO 

wliich  there  are  tliree  eilitioiis,  —  tlie   first  by  Lafreri,  the 
second  by  Heatrizet,  the  third  by  Losi. 

Tlie  Giudi/.io  \\;i.s  rnii>h('(l  111  l.)ll.  Tlie  pubhc  was  al- 
lowed to  behold  this  strikin*;'  production  of  a  master  genius 
nil  Cliristinas  Day  of  that  year.  The  (piestion  to  be  asked  is 
this:  Must  we  consider  the  ''Last  .ludgnient"  as  an  abso- 
lutely original  artistic  conception,  or  as  a  repetition  of  a 
subject  wliich  had  already  been  treated  by  older  artists,  and 
of  which  Michelangelo  had  seen  and  studied  more  than  one 
specimen  ?  There  is  no  doubt  that  at  least  one  great  and 
beautiful  .ludguient  was  known  to  him, — the  one  painted 
by  Pietro  Cavallini  in  the  church  of  Santa  Cecilia  in  Tras- 
tevere,  the  rediscovery  of  which  in  the  spring  of  1900 
created  such  a  sensation  in  the  world  of  art.  The  fresco 
had  remained  concealed  behind  the  stalls  of  the  choir  since 
l.~)o(),  when  Pope  Clement  VII  granted  the  adjoining'  con- 
vent (formerly  of  the  Benedictines)  to  the  nuns  of  Santa 
Maria  di  Campo  Marzio.  In  removing  the  central  part  of 
the  stalls,  a  group  was  first  discovered  representing  the  Re- 
deemer within  a  halo  of  angels  and  cherubim,  with  the 
Virgin  Mary  on  the  right,  the  Precursor  on  the  left,  each 
followed  by  six  ai)ostles.  The  subsequent  exploration  of  the 
wall  l)elow  the  line  of  the  apostles  left  no  doubt  that  the 
subject  of  the  com])()sition  was  a  "  Giudizio  Universale"  in 
the  fullest  meaning  of  the  words.  Under  the  feet  of  the 
Redeemer  there  is  an  altar  with  a  cross  and  the  instruments 
<»f  the  passion,  guarded  by  four  angels  soiniding  the  silver 
tniinpets.  On  the  right  of  the  altar  are  the  hosts  of  the 
blessed,  led  to  heaven  by  the  holy  deacons  Lawrence  and 
Stejjhen.  The  blessed  are  marshalled  into  three  groups, — 
men,  women,  and  ecclesiastics,  —  each  in  turn  led  by  one  of 
the  cherubim.  On  the  opposite  side  of  the  altar  are  three 
archangels  pushing  the  condemned  into  the  fire  of  hell. 


MIC  HE  LA  XGEL  0 


179 


This  vast  composition  was  at  once  recognized  as  the  work 
of  a  great  master  of  the  end  of  the  thirteenth  centnry,  l)orn 
and  educated  in  Rome,  where  even  in  the  darkest  period 
of  the  middle  ages  feelings  of  pure  classic  art  were  kept 
alive  by  existing  specimens  of  Greek  or  Greco-Roman  work- 
manship,  in   spite   of    the    jjernicious    Byzantine    influence 


Detail  of  the  Giiulizio  of  Pietro  Cavallini  in  Santa  Cecilia 

which  had  invaded  the  east  coast  and  the  south  of  the 
peninsula.  The  apostles  and  angels  of  Santa  Cecilia  were 
manifestly  outlined  and  sketched  from  works  of  statuary 
and  from  bas-reliefs  of  the  Golden  Age,  in  which  Rome  was 
still  rich  in  those  days. 

The  Santa  Cecilia  "Judgment"  must  lie  classed  chrono- 
logically the  third  among  the  great  "  Giudizii  "  of  meditieval 


180  MlCUKLAyaELO 

Italv,  l)i'iii<;'  later  than  tliose  of  Sunt'  Anoelo  in  Formis  and 
Toict'llo,  which  date  respectively  from  the  eleventh  and 
the  twcll'th  centuries.  Its  anthorship  is  uncpiestioned  ;  it  is 
the  work  of  I'ietro  Cavallini,  called  hy  Lorenzo  Ghiberti 
**  Nohilissimo  maestro  (il  quale)  dipinse  tutta  di  sua  mano 
Santa  Cecilia  in  Trastevere."  Althou<;h  inspired  in  a  certain 
measure  by  the  prototypes  of  Sant'  Angelo  in  Formis  and 
Torcello,  Cavallini's  Giudizio  is  quite  new  as  regards  the 
grouping  of  the  angels,  of  the  blessed  and  the  condemned, 
and  prepares  us  for  the  coming  great  scenes  of  Santa  Maria 
Novella  and  of  the  Camposanto  di  Pisa.  It  is  a  great  title 
to  glorv  for  Michelangelo  to  have  made  an  absolutely  new 
use  of  such  an  old  subject,  so  that  even  the  paternity  of 
the  conception  has  been  attributed  to  him. 

On  February  21  of  the  year  1513  Pope  Julius  II  came  to 
the  end  of  his  life  without  having  seen  the  realization  of  one 
of  his  most  cherished  projects,  —  the  erection  of  a  mauso- 
leum under  the  dome  of  the  new  basilica  of  St.  Peter's,  the 
splendor  of  which  was  to  surpass  that  of  all  past  and  pre- 
sent structures  of  the  same  kind.  To  that  effect  he  had 
given  full  powers  and  unlimited  means  to  Michelangelo. 
In  fact,  if  we  are  to  believe  the  w'ords  of  Vasari  and  Con- 
divi,  the  rebuilding  of  St.  Peter's  had  been  undertaken 
and  urged  forward  by  Julius  II  mostly  in  order  to  provide 
his  future  mausoleum  with  suitable  surroundings.  And  so 
great  was  his  anxiety  to  have  his  wish  fulfilled  that  even 
on  his  deathbed  he  made  the  Cardinals  Antonio  Pucci  and 
Pietro  Grossi  della  Rovere  promise  that  they  would  not 
rest  in  their  efforts  until  the  work  was  completed.  Only  one 
of  the  four  sides  of  the  structure  was  ready  at  that  time ; 
the  others  were  never  begun,  in  sjiite  of  the  willingness 
of  Michelangelo  to  keep  his  promise.  And  so  the  mortal 
remains  of  Julius  II  began  their  curious  wanderings  from 


MICHELANGELO  181 

end  to  end  of  the  basilica.  They  were  first  laid  down  in 
the  Cappella  di  Sisto  IV,  the  site  of  which  corresponds  to 
that  of  the  present  Cappella  del  Coro.  Here  the  body  was 
discovered  and  profaned  by  the  lansquenets  of  Charles  V 
on  May  7,  1527,  and  robbed  of  the  pontifical  ornaments 
and  jewels,  so  that  when  the  grave  was  opened  by  order  of 
Paul  V  on  February  10,  1610,  the  bones  were  found  col- 
lected in  a  heaj),  with  shreds  of  the  robe  and  of  the  hood. 
The  remains,  transferred  to  a  wooden  coffin,  were  buried 
again  near  the  bronze  grave  of  Sixtus  IV.  Fifteen  years 
later  Urban  VIII  again  disturbed  the  rest  of  the  two  kins- 
men Delia  Rovere  by  ordering  the  removal  of  their  tombs 
to  the  Cappella  del  Sacramento.  It  was  on  this  occasion 
that  the  two  exquisite  candelabra  modelled  by  Antonio  Pol- 
lajuolo,  and  which  stood  at  the  opposite  ends  of  the  bronze 
grave,  were  taken  possession  of  by  the  chapter,  gilded,  and 
set  up  on  their  present  clumsy  pedestals.  No  epitaph  re- 
corded the  name  of  Julius  II  in  this  new  recess  until  1780, 
when  the  present  small  and  almost  unreadable  inscription 
was  set  in  the  pavement  at  the  expense  of  an  obscure  sac- 
ristan of  the  church. 

The  side  of  the  mausoleum  which  Michelangelo  had  com- 
pleted was  set  up  in  the  right  transept  of  the  church  of 
San  Pietro  in  Vincoli,  a  church  which  had  been  saved  from 
destruction  and  restored  to  its  present  state  by  the  Delia 
Rovere  family. 

What  is  Michelano-elo's  individual  share  in  this  much 
debated  work  of  art  ?  If  we  exclude  the  Prophets,  the  Sibyls, 
and  the  Virgin  Mary,  the  work  of  RafFaelle  da  Montelupo, 
the  recumbent  figure  of  the  Pope  attributed  to  Maso  del 
Bosco,  the  Leah  and  the  Rachel  attributed  to  Scherano  da 
Settignano,  there  is  nothing  left  for  Michelangelo  himself 
but  the  Moses  and  the  general  outline  of  the  tomb.    Both 


Iv^ii  M  I(I1i:la.\(;i:h) 

liave  Ikhmi  siilijectiMl  to  scvcic  ciiticisin.  Milizia  culls  the 
Moses  a  poor  imitation  ol  tlu'  Torso  di  Ik'lvcdere,  a  fii>"iire  in 
a  senst'K'ss  atlilmlr.  with  a  satvi»'s(|M('  head  and  a  stxlc  of 
dros  oid\  lifliitniL;  a  baker's  1)(>\.  'Hie  verdict  oi  pnhlic 
opinion  is  that  the  aichitectni'c  and  j^cncral  schcnic  of  the 
monument  aic  not  nj»  to  Michelangelo's  fame,  Avhile  the 
Moses,  the  work  of  his  own  chisel,  and  the  other  statues 
and  ornaments  s(ul|ttuied  hy  Kaifaele,  Maso,  and  Scherano 
nmh'i-  his  siij)er\  ision,  may  he  safely  (dassed  among  the  best 
works  ot  the  })eriod.  According  to  the  original  design  the 
tomb  was  to  have  been  decorated  with  forty  statues,  and 
about  as  many  reliefs,  in  bronze.  Some  of  these  accessories 
stdl  exist,  amonu  them  the  figure  of  N'lctorv  crushin<>'  a  slave 
under  her  feet,  now  in  the  council  chamber  of  the  Palazzo 
Vecchio  at  Florence,  and  the  two  other  figures  of  slaves, 
offered  by  Michelangelo  to  Roberto  Strozzi,  in  token  of 
oratitude  for  the  care  he  had  received  at  liis  hands  durino- 
a  severe  illness.  Jacques  Androuet  du  Cerceau  saw  them, 
about  the  year  1579,  in  the  chateau  of  Ecouen,  then  the 
property  of  tlie  Connetable  de  Montmorency,  a  friend  and 
client  of  the  Strozzi.  In  1(32.")  they  had  been  removed  to 
the  castle  of  Cardinal  Kichelieu„  in  the  province  of  Poitou, 
and  thence  the  hero  of  Fonteiioy  (1745),  Marshal  Richelieu, 
transferred  them  to  his  palace  in  the  Faubourg  du  Roule, 
Paris.  Francesco  Cancellieri  saw  them  in  1823  in  the  shed 
of  a  marble-cutter  near  the  Louvre,  having  been  sold  at 
auction  in  1793.  They  are  now  exhibited  in  one  of  the 
rooms  of  the  Renaissance  department  of  the  Louvre. 

Three  ''  bozzetti,"  or  models,  of  the  Moses,  all  considered 
original,  have  been  described,  —  one  in  the  Potocki  Museum 
at  Warsaw,  purchased  in  France,  where  all  the  models  and 
sketches  becpieathed  by  Michelangelo  to  Antonio  iSIinio  are 
known  to  have  been  taken  :   another,  also  in  terra-cotta,  ii 


THE    .MAUSOLEUM    OF   JULIUS    I 

IN   ^ 


N    THE    CHURCH    OF    SAN    PIETRO 
vICULIS 


I 


MICHELANGELO  183 

the  public  library  at  Ferrara,  to  which  it  was  presented  by 
Cardinal  Riminaldi  in  1779.  Vasari  mentions  a  third,  mod- 
elled in  wax,  presented  by  Pierino  da  Vinci  to  Liica  Martini, 
the  only  representation  of  which  is  to  be  found,  I  believe, 
in  a  rare  copperplate  by  Beatrizet. 

The  last  and  least  known  incident  in  the  story  of  the 
Moses  is  its  temporary  removal  from  its  seat,  for  the  sake 
of  obtaining  a  plaster  cast,  which  took  place  in  1816,  at 
the  request  of  the  prince  regent  of  England.  The  pontifical 
government,  then  under  heavy  obligation  to  the  allied  powers 
for  the  restoration  of  1815,  could  not  refuse  the  permis- 
sion, and  the  Moses  was  brought  forward  about  sixteen 
inches  and  raised  on  a  higher  plinth.  The  statue  seemed  to 
have  gained  so  much  in  artistic  effect  by  the  change,  that 
a  meeting  of  the  Accaderaia  di  San  Luca  was  summoned 
to  discuss  the  problem.  The  academicians  agreed  in  their 
verdict  (June  26,  1816)  that  the  statue  should  be  kept  in 
its  new  place,  especially  as  this  was  found  to  agree  to  per- 
fection with  the  original  sketch  by  Michelangelo,  then  in 
possession  of  one  of  their  number,  the  painter  Wicar  from 
Lille. 

Vasari  says  that  the  Jews  of  his  day  used  to  crowd  around 
the  figure  of  their  leader  every  Saturday,  and  gaze  at  his 
powerful  countenance,  and  place  themselves  again  under 
his  protection.  These  weekly  assemblies  were  discontinued 
at  the  time  of  the  persecution  of  Pius  V.  The  Jew^s  are 
once  more  free  to-day  to  pay  their  homage  to  the  prophet, 
but  they  seem  to  have  lost  all  interest  in  the  custom. 

Much  has  been  said  about  Francesco  Amatore  da  Castel 
Durante,  surnamed  Urbino,  the  faithful  servant  who  for 
the  space  of  twenty-seven  years  had  not  given  Michelangelo 
cause  for  a  single  complaint,  and  of  whom  his  master  wrote 
to  Vasari :   "  Messer  Giorgio,  my  dear  friend,  it  is  hard  for 


184  MK  iii:l.\S(.kjj) 

WW  to  write;  lioweviT,  I  iiuist  i;iv('  you  a  line  in  answer  to 
vouis.  Vou  know  Urbino  died  j  '  it  is  a  mark  of  God's 
j;;reat  n'oodness,  and  yet  a  bitter  grief  to  nic  I  say  a  mark 
of  (iod's  i;()o(hiess  beeause  Urbino,  after  bavin<»-  been  the 
stav  of  mv  life,  has  tau^lit  me  not  only  how  to  meet  death 
without  regret,  iuit  even  to  long  for  it.  For  twenty-six 
years  1  have  bad  liim  with  me,  and  have  always  found 
bill!  perfect  and  faithful.  I  had  made  him  a  rich  man,  and 
lookeil  upon  bim  as  the  staff  and  prop  of  my  old  age,  and 
he  bas  gone  from  me  !  ...  He  had  no  desire  to  live,  but 
was  only  distressed  at  the  thought  of  leaving  me,  laden  with 
misfortunes,  in  the  midst  of  this  false  and  evil  world!" 
Urbino's  wife  was  Cornelia  Coh)nelli ;  they  had  a  boy  to 
wbom  Micbelanaelo  stood  o-odfather,  and  of  whom  he  writes 
to  the  widow  :  *•'  It  would  not  be  advisahle  to  send  my  god- 
son here,  because  I  have  no  womankind  about  me,  nor  a 
suitable  establishment.  The  child  is  too  young  and  deli- 
cate yet,  and  some  accident  might  happen  to  him,  which 
would  distress  me  very  much." 

I  feel  that  such  sentiments,  expressed  in  letters  which 
were  strictly  intimate,  and  never  intended  to  be  made  public, 
are  a  great  testimonial  to  Michelangelo's  delicacy  and  tender- 
ness of  soul. 

Ill  lino  was  once  the  hero  of  an  adventure,  of  which 
Flaminio  Vacca,  the  artist,  gives  the  following  version : 
At  the  time  of  Paul  IV  (1555-50)  the  head  keeper  in 
charge  of  the  vineyard  of  Orazio  Muti,  wdiich  occupied  part 
of  the  valley  between  the  Quirinal  and  the  Viminal,  through 
which  the  Via  Nazionale  now  runs,  found  a  great  treasure 
of  gems  and  coins  and  gold.  No  particulars  are  given  about 
the  age  and  quality  of  the  find,  and  therefore  we  do  not 
know  whether  it  had  been  buried  there  at  the  time  of  th^ 

'  December  3,  1555. 


MICHELANGELO  185 

barbarian  invasions  or  in  the  more  recent  sack  of  1527. 
Orazio  Muti  happened  to  visit  his  vineyard  that  morning, 
and  finding"  no  traces  of  the  gardener,  suspected  something- 
was  wrong,  and  the  suspicion  became  certainty  when  he  saw 
a  hole  around  the  ed^e  of  which  were  scattered  frao^ments 
of  vases  of  metal  and  a  few  oold  coins.  Warnino-  was  sent 
at  once  to  the  police,  and  also  to  all  bankers  and  money- 
changers in  the  city,  to  be  on  the  lookout  for  the  absconder. 
Now  it  happened  that  on  the  same  morning  Michelangelo 
had  sent  Urbino  to  exchange  a  number  of  gold  pieces  of  a 
kind  which  were  no  longer  in  use.  The  banker  to  whom 
they  were  offered  had  Urbino  arrested  at  once,  and  on  his 
declaration  that  they  had  been  given  him  by  his  master, 
Michelangelo  also  was  put  in  prison,  and  questioned  by  the 
magistrate. 

"What  is  your  name?"  was  the  first  question. 
"I  have  been  told  my  name  is  Michelangelo  Buonarroti." 
"  Where  are  you  from  ?" 

"  I  have  also  been  told  I  was  born  in  Florence." 
"  Do  you  happen  to  know  a  Messer  Orazio  Muti  ?  " 
"  How  can  I  have  speech  with  a  dumb  man  [muto]  ?  " 
At  this  point  several  cardinals  sent  warning  to  the  magis- 
trate not  to  make  a  ridiculous  blunder ;  but  although  the 
artist  was  set  at  liberty  at  once,  poor  Urbino  had  to  stay  in 
jail  for  several  days.    The  real  thief  was  traced  to  Venice  ; 
but  when  Orazio  Muti  brought  his  complaint  before  the 
Serenissima,  the  latter  had  already  bought  the  treasure  and 
given  the  man  the  freedom  of  the  republic  and  a  substan- 
tial remuneration. 

Michelangelo  spent  the  last  years  of  his  life  in  the  house 
Via  de'  Fornari,  n.  212,  in  which  he  died  on  February  18  of 
the  year  1564.  The  house  was  demolished  in  1902  ;  but  the 
loss  is  not  great,  because  there  was  nothing  left  of  the  origi- 


186 


MICIIKLAXCKLO 


mil  structure,  it  luivini;'  heen  niodernized  from  eaves  to  roof 
by  Prime  Alessandro  Torlouia,  lono-  before  its  former  own- 
ersbij)  had    been  established  beyond  doubt  by  Benvenuto 


« M IC H AE LANG E LV S  .  BVOMAI<OTVS~ N O B IL I  S~  ~ \ 
-  FLORENTINVS  -AN  -  A£T 'S  VE  -  L  XXI-      ;! 

jJQVi  JIM  NOMEN   H,\BIS  .TATq.  EST  N/\M  CAETERA.  C\'I  NON' 
1         S\  NT  NOTAAVTMENTEMNTON'  HAB£TAVTOC\'X.Oi", 


t.gr;.:u!^ 


:^^^E^: 


Michelangelo's  best  known  portrait,  from  an  eng^raving  by 
Antonio  Lafreri 


Gasparoni  in  1866.  I  say  beyond  doubt,  because  its  site  is 
indicated  in  an  official  deed  of  June  12,  1555,  concerning 
tiie  cutting  of  the  same  Via  de'  Fornari  through  the  block  of 
gardens  and  houses  which  at  that  time  separated  the  forum 


MICH  EL  A  XG  EL  0  187 

of  Trajan  from  the  Piazza  de'  SS.  Apostoli.  The  "  Casa  del 
magnilico  Michelangelo  Buonarroti  "  is  described  by  that 
document  as  adjoining  the  church  of  Santa  Maria  di  Loreto 
on  one  side,  and  the  Palazzo  Zambeccari-Bonelli  on  the 
other,  both  of  which  landmarks  are  still  standing. 

On  Saturday,  February  19,  15(34,  the  day  after  the  death 
of  the  master,  the  house  was  entered  by  the  fiscal  deputy, 
Angelantonio  de  Amatis,  bent  on  the  sad  mission  of  making 
the  inventory  of  Michelangelo's  belongings,  in  the  interest 
of  his  nephew  and  heir,  Leonardo,  who  had  been  w^arned  of 
the  fatal  turn  of  his  uncle's  illness  too  late,  and  was  still  on 
his  way  from  Florence  to  Rome.  Let  us  follow  in  the  foot- 
steps of  the  magistrate  together  with  Michelangelo's  friends, 
Tommaso  de'  Cavalieri,  Daniele  Ricciarelli  da  Volterra,  Jacopo 
del  Duca,  and  Diomede  Leoni  da  Siena,  wdiose  acquaintance 
we  have  already  made  or  shall  soon  make.  We  enter  the 
room  from  which  the  body  has  just  been  removed  to  the 
parish  church  of  the  Santi  Apostoli,  and  we  note  the  fol- 
lowino'  details,  tellinof  a  o-reat  and  noble  tale  of  fruofalitv, 
and  modesty,  and  simplicity. 

The  bed  in  which  the  mighty  spirit  "  Domini  Michaelis 
Angeli  Bonarote  florentini,  sculptoris  excellentissimi  "  had 
parted  a  few  hours  before  from  the  mortal  body,  had  an 
iron  frame,  one  mattress  stuffed  with  straw,  three  mattresses 
stuffed  with  wool,  tw^o  woollen  covers,  and  one  of  kid-skins. 
At  the  top  of  the  couch  there  was  a  canopy  of  white  linen, 
held  by  a  wooden  rod. 

On  the  riofht  of  the  bed  stood  a  wardrobe  containing  his 
clothing  and  part  of  his  underwear  and  household  linen. 
There  were  two  overcoats,  one  gray,  one  reddish  brown, 
lined  with  fox-fur ;  a  cape  of  the  finest  black  Florentine 
cloth,  lined  Avitli  satin ;   a  satin  blouse  (eamisciuola),  with 


188  MK  iii:la.\(;klo 

red  silk  riljhoiis  ;  two  liats  of  l)lac'U  "  ennisiiio  ;  "  and  otlier 
articles,  the  (lesL'rij)tion  of  wliicii  I  find  almost  impossible  to 
reiidei-  lioiii  the  (  onveiitioiial  ])liraseolog'y  of  the  inventory. 
The  hiMii  ;iii(l  imdt'iwcar  eomprised  eight  bed-slieets,  eight 
tahlecloths,  nineteen  shuts  winch  had  been  Avoi-n,  five  new 
ones,  two  llaiinel  shirts,  fifteen  handkerchiefs,  and  ei<»lit 
towels. 

The  description  of  the  next  room,  formerly  occupied  by 
the  faithful  Urbino  and  latterly  by  Antonio  del  Francioso 
da  Castel  Durante,  contained  nothing  characteristic.  In  the 
cellar  no  wine  was  found,  but  a  small  cask  of  vinegar  and 
five  jars  of  water,  probably  from  the  Trevi  fountain,  the 
onlv  drinkable  water  at  that  time.  Michelaupelo's  mount, 
which  was  found  tied  to  the  manger  in  the  stable,  is  de- 
scribed as  a  "  ronzinetto  piccolo  di  pelo  castagnaccio,"  a 
small  chestnut  pony.  The  last  three  paragraphs  of  the 
inventory  refer  to  the  marbles,  the  cartoons,  and  the  money. 
There  were  in  the  studio  three  unfinished  pieces  of  statuary, 
a  St.  Peter  and  a  Christ,  both  larger  than  life,  and  a  smaller 
Christ  carrying  the  cross  ;  the  first  cartoon,  made  of  vari- 
ous sheets  pasted  together,  showed  the  plan  of  St.  Peter's 
in  the  shape  of  a  Greek  cross  ;  the  second,  the  plan  of  the 
same  church  by  Antonio  da  Sangallo  ;  the  third,  fourth,  and 
fifth,  sketches  of  windows  and  otlier  architectural  details. 
Tlie  last  is  described  as  a  "  great  cartoon  on  which  are 
sketched  the  figures  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  and  of  the 
glorious  Virgin  Mary  his  mother,"  and  was  claimed  by 
Tomniaso  de'  Cavalieri  as  a  present  made  to  him  by  Michel- 
angelo long  before  his  death. 

In  the  strong-box  of  polished  walnut,  besides  a  file  of 
private  papers,  there  were  81i)0  gold  ducats  and  about 
two  hundred  scudi.  mostly  tied  up  in  handkerchiefs  and 
small  bags,  or  else  placed  inside  jugs  of  copper  or  majolica. 


MICH  EL  A  NGEL  0 


189 


Pending  the  arrival  of  Leonardo,  the  money  and  the  car- 
toons were  deposited  in  the  safes  of  the  hanking  house  of 
Roberto  Ubaldini  &  Company.    Leonardo  received  his  share 


View  of  the  vestibule  of  Michelangelo's  house  at  the  foot  of  the 
Capitol 

on  the  27th  of  February,  and  Tommaso  de'  Cavalieri  his 
cartoon  on  the  7th  of  the  following  month. 

The  house  in  which  the  master  had  lived  in  retirement 
for  so  many  years  with  no  one  to  cheer  his  long  vigils,  the 
house  which  ought  to  have  been  transformed  into  a  shrine 
sacred  to  the  memory  of  the  greatest  genius  that  Italy  has 


190  MK'llELAMiKLO 

t'ver  j)roilm'e(l,  was  sold  \)\  the  lu'ir  to  Martlno  Long'lii,  the 
architt'C't,  on  Dt'cember  14.  l."»Sl.  It  could  not  have  fallen 
into  nioiv  evil  hands.  Martiiio  himself  was  not  a  bad  man, 
luit  his  eldest  son.  Oiioiio,  can  he  safely  proclaimed  one  of 
tile  worst  sconndrels  of  the  age.  The  police  archives  of  the 
end  of  the  sixteenth  and  the  beginning  of  the  seventeenth 
centurv  contain  the  records  of  at  least  twenty-five  street 
brawls  in  which  Onorio  took  a  leading-  part,  striking  de- 
fenceless woiut'ii  and  boys,  throwing  blame  on  innocent 
people,  and  j)erinring  himself  before  the  magistrate  with 
astonnding  ettrontery.  In  IGll  I  find  another  Longhi  in 
possession  of  the  historical  house,  Stefano  the  sculptor, 
whose  name  is  associated  with  the  tomb  of  Paul  V,  the 
Borghese  chapel  in  Santa  Maria  Maggiore,  the  Cappella 
Clementina  in  St.  John  the  Lateran,  the  monument  of 
Cardinal  Cnsano  in  the  church  of  Santa  Maria  in  Vallicella, 
and  other  works  of  the  time.  In  a  sworn  declaration  made 
on  May  28,  1(511,  apropos  of  another  escapade  of  his  dis- 
reputable kinsman,  Onorio,  he  declares  himself  to  be  the 
"  owner  of  the  houses  formerly  belonging  to  Michelangelo 
Bnonarroti,  located  in  the  Rione  di  Trevi,  next  door  to  the 
one  inhabited  by  Oriorio  himself." 

Witli  tlie  destruction  (»f  the  block  in  which  these  houses 
once  stood,  accomplished,  as  I  have  stated  above,  m  the 
s])riiig  of  1902,  the  last  trace  of  Michelangelo's  residence 
in  Uome  has  disappeared.  In  1872  the  same  fate  befell  his 
other  house,  located  at  the  foot  of  the  Capitol  at  the  first 
turn  of  the  Salita  delle  Tre  Pile. 

The  vaulted  halls  of  the  temple  of  Hercules  at  Tivoli  (the 
so-called  villa  of  Mjecenas  of  old  guide-books),  which  he 
and  Daniele  da  Volterra  used  for  a  studio  when  heat  or 
plague  or  malaria  made  life  impossible  in  Rome,  have  been 
turned  into  an  iron  foundry.    Of  the  four  giant  cypresses  in 


MICHELANGELO  191 

the  Chiostro  della  Certosa,  planted,  according  to  tradition, 
by  his  own  hand  in  1563,  only  one  is  left  standing,  the 
others  having  been  thrown  down  by  a  tornado  in  1886.  The 
ontline  of  the  dome  of  St.  Peter's,  drawn  on  the  marble 
floor  of  the  nave  of  St.  Paul's,  was  obliterated  in  the 
memorable  fire  of  July,  1826.  His  very  body  was  stolen 
away  from  the  provisional  tomb  in  the  church  of  SS.  Apos- 
toli  (where  it  had  been  laid  to  rest  pending  the  erection  of 
a  great  mausoleum  in  St.  Peter's),  enclosed  in  a  bale  of  avooI 
and  taken  out  of  the  city  by  stealth  ! 

Roman  guide-books  describe  a  cenotaph  erected  to  Michel- 
angelo's memory  in  the  cloisters  of  SS.  Apostoli,  having 
upon  it  the  recumbent  figure  of  a  bearded  old  man.  This 
curious  identification  was  suggested  for  the  first  time  in 
1823  by  Filippo  de  Romanis.  Nicola  Ratti,  however,  has 
proved  to  our  satisfaction  that  the  monument  pertains  to 
Filippo  Eustachio  da  Macerata,  a  distinguished  physician, 
whose  likeness  to  Michelangelo  is  indeed  striking. 

The  only  reminiscence  of  his  personality  to  be  found 
among  us  is  the  wonderful  bust  in  the  Conservatori  palace, 
a  bronze  head  upon  a  bust  of  bigio  morato,  which  tradition 
ascribes  to  Michelangelo's  own  hand.  The  tradition  is  un- 
founded. Guglielmo  della  Porta  likewise  may  be  left  out  of 
the  question,  on  account  of  the  following  passage  in  Vasari's 
"Life"  (p.  260,  ed.  Lemonnier) :  "Of  Michelangelo  we 
have  no  other  portrait  but  two  in  painting,  one  by  the  hand 
of  Bugiardini,  and  the  other  by  Jacopo  del  Conte,  with  one 
of  bronze  in  full  relief  by  Daniele  Ricciarelli."  Neither  of 
the  painted  portraits  recorded  by  Vasari  is  now  known  to 
exist,  but  the  Capitoline  head  is  beyond  doubt  the  one 
modelled  by  Daniele  da  Volterra.  It  is  a  fine  bold  w^ork, 
full  of  character,  and  stamped  with  every  mark  of  origi- 
nality.     It    represents    the    great    man    considerably    past 


1!»L> 


Mli  IIKLA.MIELO 


middle  aL;(',  \vlth  tlic  fracture  of  his  nose — which  he  siif- 
eivd  trom  Torreg'iaiio  in  his  youth  —  distinctly  marked. 
The  bust  was  presented  to  the  museum  of  the  Capitol  about 
the  end   of  the  eii;liteenth  century  by  a  Roman  antiquary 


Bust  of  Miclielaii;;A,lo,  by  Oaiiiek'  da  N'oltena 

and  dealer,  Antonio  Borioni.  Several  replicas  o£  it  are 
known  to  exist,  all  cast  in  bronze  towards  the  end  of  the 
sixteenth  century.  Such  is  the  one  ofi'ered  to  the  Uni- 
versity of  Oxford  l)y  Mr.  W.  Woodburn  ;  a  second  now 
in  tlie  Barg-ello,  Florence,  wrongly  attributed  to  Giovanni 


MICHELANGEL  0 


193 


Bologna ;  and  a  third  exhibited  by  Mr.  Bendeley  at  the 
Musee  Retrospectif  in  18G5,  and  described  in  vol.  xix  of 
the  "  Gazette  des  Beaux  Arts,"  pp.  330,  331. 

Vasai'i  tells  us  in  the  "  Life  "  (p.  260,  ed.  Lemonnier) : 
"About  that  time  [1562]  the  Cavaliere  Leone  made  the  por- 
trait of  Michelangelo  in  a  medal,  very  lifelike,  on  the  re- 
verse of  which,  and  to  humor  him,  he  represented  a  blind 


Michelangelo's  portrait,  modelled  in  wax,  by  Leone  Aretino 

man  led  by  a  dog,  with  these  words  around :  docebo  ini- 

QVOS  VIAS   TVAS    ET    IMPII    AD   TE   CONVERTENTVR   [whicll    is 

the  fourteenth  verse  of  the  Miserere]  ;  and  because  this 
pleased  Michelangelo  greatly,  he  gave  Leone  a  model  in 
wax  by  his  own  hand  of  Hercules  crushing  Antaeus,  and 
some  of  his  drawings." 

Of  this  medallion  by  Leone  Leoni  d'  Arezzo  there  is  a 
fine  example  in  silver,  seemingly  of  the  original  period,  and 


l!'l  MK  IIKI.AXCELO 

if  so  uiii(|iie,  in  the  Soutli  Kensington  Mnsenm.    The  bronze 
specimens  are  less  rare. 

1  liave  mentioned  this  small  hut  interesting'  portrait  be- 
cause HI  KSSl,  while  visiting  mv  late  friend  Charles  Drurv- 
Fortnuiii  at  his  villa  at  Staumore,  I  was  shown  the  original 
model  from  life,  executed  in  1502  by  Leone.  It  is  modelled 
in  wax.  of  Hesli  color,  in  gentle  relief,  on  a  black  oval  piece 
of  slate.  The  admirable  and  careful  modelling  of  the  fea- 
tures  denotes  the  painstaking  touch  of  a  superior  hand,  and 
gives  them  a  more  lifelike  expression  than  that  conveyed  by 
the  medal.  The  artist's  name,  Leo,  so  conspicuous  on  the 
medal  itself,  is  nowhere  apparent  on  the  wax ;  but  on  the 
back  of  the  oval  there  is  a  label  w^ritten  by  a  sixteenth 
century  hand  containing  the  Avords,  '*  Ritratto  di  Michel- 
angiolo  Buonaroti,  fatto  dal  Naturale  da  Leone  Aretino 
suo  Amico." 


CHAPTER   V 

VITTORIA    COLONNA 

Whenever  we  consider  the  life  of  great  men  to  whom  a 
place  of  honor  has  been  given  in  the  history  of  humanity, 
we  find  that  the  psychological  moment  of  their  career  coin- 
cides with  their  first  meeting  with  a  power  almost  equal  to 
their  own  —  with  a  kindred  spirit  capable  of  appreciating 
and  discussing  the  higher  problems  of  life  and  art.  No 
words  can  describe  their  intense  satisfaction  at  having  found 
at  last  a  being  by  whom  they  are  understood,  with  whom 
they  can  converse  without  having  to  explain  phrases  or 
sentiments,  the  deficiency  of  speech  being  supplemented  by 
the  fulness  of  thought.  There  is  no  greater  desire  than 
that  of  meeting  such  a  congenial  mind,  no  greater  happiness 
than  having  found  it,  no  greater  sorrow  than  to  part  from 
it.  Hermann  Grimm,  speaking  of  this  psychological  moment 
in  the  life  of  Michelangelo,  quotes  the  instances  of  the 
friendship  between  Goethe  and  Schiller  and  between  Byron 
and  Shelley,  adding  that  no  such  equal-minded  friend  was 
granted  to  Dante,  Shakespeare,  or  Beethoven  ;  but  to  my 
mind  the  great  men  have  found  the  long-sought-for  happi- 
ness only  when  the  ideal  ivoman  has  stepped  across  their 
path.  We  cannot  conceive  the  greatness  of  Dante  without 
Beatrice,  of  Petrarch  without  Laura,  of  Raphael  without 
Margherita,  of  Tasso  without  Eleonora,  and  for  the  same 
reason  we  cannot  separate  Michelangelo  from  the  sweet  and 
noble  figure  of  Vittoria  Colonna. 

Born  in   1490,   tlie  daughter  of   Prince  Fabrizio  —  on 


11>G  VITTO/i'/A    CO/.OXXA 

wlioiu  the  (lii^iiity  of  ('()nstal)l('  ol'  N;ii)li's  had  just  heeii 
c-()iit"env(l  \)\  Ferdinaiul  the  CatlioHc  and  of  A^nesiiia  di 
Montt'feltro.  ln'trotlied  from  cliildhood  to  Francis  Ferdi- 
nand d' A valos.  niartjiu'ss  of  l*('>(ara.  slic  married  this  young' 
and  oallant  leader  of  armies  at  the  age  oi  seventeen.  Tra- 
(lition  connects  these  early  events  of  lier  life  with  the  castle 
and  townshij)  of  Marino,  where  she  is  said  to  have  spent 
her  honeviiKKyn.  No  more  ideal  place  could  have  been  chosen 
hv  the  liride  for  her  retreat  after  the  nuptial  ceremony  than 
this  picturesque  stronghold,  from  which  the  Colonna  family 
still  derives  its  ducal  title.  Conversant  as  she  was  with  the 
Latin  and  Greek  languages,  we  can  picture  her  taking  soli- 
tary walks  in  the  wooded  glen,  —  still  called  the  Parco 
dei  Colonna,  —  watered  by  the  Aqua  Ferentina,  where  tbe 
various  tribes  of  the  Latin  confederacy  used  to  hold  their 
assemblies  in  the  early  days  of  Rome.  And  in  following 
the  path  by  the  brook  toAvards  its  springs  her  thoughts  may 
liave  w^andered  back  to  the  tragic  fate  of  Turnus  Herdo- 
nius,  the  chieftain  of  Aricia,  who  was  drowned  at  the  "  Caput 
aquae  Ferentinae  "  by  order  of  Tarquinius  Superbus,  and 
also  to  the  great  meeting  of  the  confederates  which  pre- 
ceded the  battle  of  Lake  Regillus.  These  springs  are  still 
rising  in  a  clear  volume  at  the  base  of  a  great  mass  of  rock 
crowned  with  evergreens,  and  there  are  rustic  and  moss- 
oTown  seats  around,  which  seem  to  invite  the  visitor  to  rest 
in  solitude,  and  to  recall  the  events  of  the  past. 

Vittoria,  besides  her  knowledge  of  classic  literature,  wrote 
with  equal  grace  in  Italian  prose  and  verse.  Her  poems 
were  first  printed  at  Parma  in  1538,  under  the  title  of 
"  Rhymes  of  the  dlcine  Vittoria  Colonna,"  which  title,  how- 
ever exaggerated,  bears  testimony  to  the  great  veneration  in 
which  she  was  held  even  in  her  lifetime  by  her  country- 
men.   The  poetical  vein  with  which  she  was  gifted  was  no  less 


FIT  TOE  I  A    C  OL  ONNA 

197 

fc^^l 

^^^nTTrTiy^bifil^^Hf!^^^                        '  ;j^<[^    ^^    ^^SL^^l^^^d^^U 

View  of  the  village  of  Marino,  the  birthplace  of  Vittoria  Colonna 

captivating  to  them  than  the  grace  of  her  person  ;  because 
in  those  happy  days  of  the  first  quarter  of  the  sixteenth 
century  no  one  coukl  shine  in  society  unless  he  was  a  fol- 
lower of  the  muses.  Every  one  indulged  in  rhymes:  a  pious 
cardinal  like  Bembo,  a  grave  historian  like  Giovio,  a  spirited 
warrior  like  Julius  II,  an  artist  like  Michelangelo.  Vittoria 
wrote  also  a  pamphlet  on  the  "  Passion  of  the  Redeemer," 
printed  at  Bologna  in  1557,  which,  owing  to  the  search 
made  for  it  by  the  dreaded  Court  of  the  Inquisition  at 
the  time  of  Paul  IV,  has  now  become  a  bibliographical  curi- 
osity. 

The  first  parting  between  bride  and  groom  was  caused  in 
1511  by  the  outbreak  of  war  on  the  part  of  the  Holy  Alli- 
ance, formed  by  the  republic  of  Venice,  Pope  Julius  II, 
and  King  Ferdinand  the  Catholic,  to  drive  King  Louis  XII 
out  of  Italy.  The  beginning  of  the  campaign  was  not  favor- 
able to  the  marquess  of  Pescara,  he  having  fallen  into  the 
hands  of  the  French  leader,  Gaston  de  Foix,  at  the  battle 
of  Ravenna  (1512).  A  few  years  later,  however,  he  took 
his  revenge  on  the  plains  of  Pavia,  where  the  French  were 
utterly  defeated  and  their  leader  and  king,  Francis  I,  was 
made  a   prisoner  of  war.    Alas !   the   news   of  such   great 


19S  lITToIxIA    COLOXXA 

arliieveiiu'iits  did  iu»t  hiiiig-  j(»v  to  tlie  heart  of  Vittoria. 
As  Gaston  dc  Foi\  had  paid  for  tlie  victory  of  Kaveiina 
witli  liis  own  hfe,  so  tlie  victory  of  Puvia  was  destined  to  put 
an  end  to  IVscara's  career.  The  younjj  hero  Hngfered  some 
time  afttT  the  hatth',  under  the  tender  nursing  of  his  wife, 
Imt  his  wounds  were  of  too  serious  a  nature  to  he  healed 
l>v  Imnian  skilh  lie  died  at  Mihm  on  the  nioht  of  Decern- 
her  'i,  l.")25,  in  a  palace  near  the  church  of  San  Nazaro,  hy 
till'  Porta  Romana,  which  he  had  houo-ht  of  Giangfiaconio 
Trivid/io  two  years  before  the  fatal  battle.  His  will,  written 
by  the  notary  Caimi,  an  authentic  copy  of  which  is  pre- 
served in  the  Colonna  archives  at  Rome,  is  a  document  of 
intense  historical  interest,  Avhicli  1  believe  has  never  been 
I)ublislied.  Pescara's  body  was  transferred  from  Milan  to 
Naples,  and  buried  in  the  church  of  San  Domenico  Mag'- 
giore  with  stately  ceremonies,  as  became  the  "  generalis- 
simo"  of  the  armies  of  the  Emperor  Charles  V. 

After  this  cruel  event,  Vittoria,  who  had  been  left  a 
widow  in  the  prime  of  life,  of  beauty,  and  of  personal 
attractions,  vowed  to  keep  herself  faithful  to  the  memory 
of  the  husband  of  whose  help  and  love  she  had  been  so 
})rematurely  deprived.  The  sentiments  which  she  cherished 
to  the  end  of  her  life  vindicate  Pescara  from  the  charges 
brought  against  him  by  several  historians.  He  is  accused  of 
having  plotted  against  Charles  V,  because  the  emperor  had 
taken  away  from  his  keeping  Francis  I,  his  royal  prisoner 
of  war.  He  is  accused,  furthermore,  of  having  betrayed  to 
the  emperor  his  fellow  conspirators,  and  of  having  turned  in- 
former as  soon  as  he  discovered  how  little  chance  there  was 
of  carrying  the  conspiracy  through.  But  if  Pescara  had 
really  been  a  double  traitor,  the  young  w4dow  would  have 
behaved  in  a  different  way.  We  know  that  she  led  almost 
a  monastic  life,  wandering  from  convent  to  convent,  and 


VlTTOllIA    COLONNA  199 

seeking"  comfort  in  seclusion.  "  It  seems  to  me,"  she  says  in 
one  of  her  plaintive  sonnets,  "  that  the  sun  has  lost  the 
brightness  of  its  rays,  that  the  stars  are  paling,  the  trees 
losing  their  mantle  of  verdure,  the  fields  their  flowers,  the 
waters  their  purity,  the  breeze  its  freshness,  since  the  one 
I  loved  has  left  me  alone  !  "  Such  a  manner  of  life,  away 
from  the  daily  intercourse  of  society,  raised  her  religious 
feelings  to  a  high  strain,  and  prepared  her  to  feel  the  in- 
fluence of  Juan  Valdes,  one  of  the  most  determined  and  least 
suspected  promoters  of  reform  in  Italy,  —  so  little  suspected, 
in  fact,  that  Pope  Paul  III  had  attached  him  to  his  own 
court.  And  yet  the  unfortunates  who  had  listened  to  his 
exhortations,  like  Carnesecchi,  w^ere  soon  to  be  burned  alive  ! 
Vittoria  was  introduced  to  Valdes  by  the  duchess  of  Fran- 
cavilla,  and,  like  so  many  enlightened  Italians  of  the  period, 
she  did  not  dream  of  doing-  wrono-  in  listeninsf  to  the  de- 
nunciations  of  the  reformer  against  the  corruption  of  the 
Curia. 

It  may  seem  strange,  but  it  is  certainly  a  fact,  that  the 
Rome  of  Paul  III  was  just  as  strong  a  centre  of  reforming 
tendencies  as  were  Naples,  Ferrara,  Lucca,  Bologna,  and 
other  such  intellectual  centres.  One  could  have  repeated 
with  the  poet,  "  Thy  greatest  enemy,  0  Rome,  is  at  thy 
gates  !  "  And  yet  these  Italian  advocates  of  the  purification 
of  the  church  were  all  zealous  Catholics,  and,  far  from  consid- 
ering themselves  adversaries  of  the  Holy  See,  they  thought 
they  were  working  for  its  final  triumph.  Their  heresy,  if 
I  may  use  such  a  term,  was  altogether  unconscious. 

It  was  at  this  juncture  that  Vittoria  met  Michelangelo 
for  the  first  time,  and  it  seems  that  after  such  a  long  period 
of  sorrow  and  solitude  (1525-36)  the  pure  and  intellect- 
ual intercourse  with  the  great  man  raised  her  spirits  once 
more  and  made  her  life  more  cheerful.    The  followinor-  five 


'JdO  IITTOUIA    (OLoyyA 

years,  w liirli  slu*  jtasscd  in  Komc.  iiiailv  tlic  liaj)j)iest  period  in 
tlu-  life  <»r  Ix.tli. 

Few  s|ieciiiM'iis  remain  ol  \  ittoria's  eorrespondeiice  with 
Miilu-hiiii;t'l<i.  A  li'tter  written  by  lier  apropos  of  a  sketch 
of  a  criuilix,  wliieli  the  master  had  submitted  for  her  ap- 
proval, bt'i;ins  witli  tlie  c^raceful  address,  '*  Unieo  maestro 
Mieiielani;el()  et  mio  singidarissimo  amieo  "  (Unique  mas- 
ter and  my  most  special  friend),  and  ends  with  a  recpiest 
to  be  allowed  to  keep  the  design  as  a  dear  remembrance 
of  their  friendship. 

At  this  period  of  her  life  Vittoria  appears  to  us  like  a 
masterpiece  of  Greek  statuary  which,  after  the  lapse  of  cen- 
turies, has  found  no  equal.  Little  short  of  perfection,  she 
must  be  considered  as  the  typical  representative  of  the  great 
Italian  lady  of  the  sixteenth  century,  on  account  of  her 
powerful  intellect,  sincere  piety,  unremitting  spirit  of  char- 
ity, i)urity  of  mind  and  body,  and  lifelong  devotion  to  the 
memory  of  her  lost  husband. 

Trollope,  Ferrero,  Midler,  Benrath,  Grimm,  Reumont, 
Corvisieri,  Luzio,  Rodocanachi,  Amante,  Fontana,  and  others 
have  spoken  so  exhaustively  of  her  connection  with  the  work 
of  reformation  in  general,  and  with  the  spreading  of  the 
doctrines  of  Juan  Valdes  in  particular,  that  I  could  very 
well  disregard  this  chapter  of  her  life,  were  it  not  for  the 
fact  that  the  hasty  burial  of  her  body  in  the  church  of 
Sant'  Anna  de'  Funari  and  its  subsequent  disappearance 
are  distinctly  connected  with  her  alleged  deviation  from  the 
Catholic  faith. 

Vittoria  had  already  expressed  her  belief  in  the  necessity 
of  a  reformation,  in  the  sonnet  beginning,  — 

Veggo  d'  alga  e  di  fango  oiiiai  si  carca 
Pietro,  la  nave  tua,  che  se  qualche  onda 
l)i  fiior  I'assale  e  intorno  la  circoiula 
Potria  spezzarsi  e  a  rischio  andar  la  barca. 


THE    PORTRAIT    OF   VITTORIA    COLONNA    BY    PONTORMO    IN 
THE  GALLERIA    BUONARROTI    IN    FLORENCE 


VITTORIA    COLONNA  203 

"  I  see  thy  ship,  0  Peter,  so  overladen  with  mire  that  she 
is  in  danger  of  sinking*  at  the  first  attack  of  the  waves !  " 
Other  alhisions  to  tlie  same  subject  have  been  collected  by 
Trollope  in  "  A  Decade  of  Italian  Women,"  vol.  i,  p.  352; 
but  Vittoria  had  written  many  other  poems  in  a  Valdensian 
spirit,  which  are  lost.  When  Pietro  Carnesecchi  was  brought 
before  the  Inquisition,  twenty  years  after  the  death  of  the 
nuirchesa,  he  distinctly  stated  that  he  had  read  them. 

Q.  "  Have  you  heard,  directly  or  indirectly,  the  Lady 
Marchesa  di  Pescara  express  doubtful  or  evil  opinions  con- 
cernino"  our  faith?" 

A.  "  It  seems  to  me  I  have  read  in  some  of  her  sonnets 
that  she  believed  in  absolute  predestination,  but  I  am  not 
so  sure." 

And  again,  in  the  cross-examination  of  February  19, 1567, 
Carnesecchi  repeated  that  the  doctrines  with  which  the  lady 
had  been  imbued  by  Bernardino  Ocliino,  Alvise  Priuli,  and 
Marcantonio  Flaminio  had  been  more  than  once  hinted  at  in 
her  poems ;  but  the  fact  is  that  these  compositions,  tainted 
wnth  a  heretic  spirit,  are  not  to  be  found  in  the  printed 
editions. 

Another  point  of  interest  in  this  period  of  her  life  is  the 
battle  she  fought  in  favor  of  the  reformed  body  of  Fran- 
ciscans known  by  the  name  of  Capuchins.  The  Capuchins, 
instituted  by  Matteo  da  Boschi  and  Francesco  da  Cartocceto 
in  1525,  had  met  with  difficulties  since  the  beginning  of 
their  conventual  life  ;  and  it  was  only  out  of  fear  and  respect 
for  Caterina  Cibo,  duchess  of  Camerino,  who  had  given 
them  shelter,  that  the  general  of  the  Franciscans,  Quiiionez, 
and  the  cardinal  protector  of  the  order,  Pucci,  abstained 
from  having  recourse  to  extreme  measures. 

The  interest  taken  by  Vittoria  in  the  case  of  the  Capu- 
chins  arose    from   three   causes :    from   her   intimacy  with 


204  viTTinnA  coloxxa 

the  (luclu'ss  of  ('aiiu'iiiio  ;  from  her  itelief  that  the  austere 
spliitual  lilt-  l<'<!  I»y  tlu'  iiu'inhers  of  tlie  new  ordei- would  be 
an  ulijoct-K'sson  to  the*  coirnptiMl  secuhir  cler^'y  ;  and  histly, 
truni  tlu'  fact  ot"  lier  being'  herself  a  disciple  of  Fra  Bernar- 
dino ()(liiiio  of  Siena,  who  had  become  general  of  the 
order  ill  1.">,')S,  ami  hail  enlisted  among"  the  reformers.  The 
correspondence  of  Vittoria  contains  many  letters  in  favor  of 
these  lunnble  foHowers  of  St.  Francis,  addressed  to  Cardinal 
Contareno.  Krcole  Conzaga,  Agostino  Trivnlzio,  and  Eleonora 
della  Koveie.  duchess  of  Urbino.  We  read  in  one  of  them 
the  following"  sentences:  ''The  wicked  men  accuse  our  poor 
Ca[)uchins  of  l)eing"  Lutherans  because  they  preach  the  free- 
dom of  the  spirit ;  but  if  the  Capuchins  are  Lutherans,  then 
St.  Francis  himself  must  be  considered  a  heretic.  And  again, 
if  preaching"  the  freedom  of  the  spirit  against  the  influence 
of  evil  must  be  considered  a  fallacy,  then  it  is  a  fallacy  to 
follow  the  gospel,  in  which  we  find  the  precept,  Sph'ltus 
est  fjin  rlrijictft.''''  There  is  no  doubt  that  Vittoria,  shocked 
by  the  corruption  of  the  clergy  and  the  general  relaxation 
from  ecclesiastical  discipline  which  prevailed  in  central  and 
southern  Italy  from  the  time  of  Leo  X  to  that  of  Clement 
VII,  advocated  the  reformation  of  the  Catholic  Church  with 
all  the  fervor  of  a  believer,  and  with  the  exquisite  tact  of 
the  grand  lady. 

The  letters  exchanged  with  Marguerite  de  Valois,  queen 
of  Navarre,  prove  that  community  of  ideas  had  brought 
about  a  great  intimacy  between  the  French  reformer  and 
the  Roman  poetess ;  not  that  Vittoria  meant  to  go  as  far 
as  Marguerite  in  her  disregard  of  the  Curia,  —  quite  the 
contrary  !  Vittoria  desired  an  amelioration  in  the  moral 
condition  of  the  Catholic  world  to  be  brought  about  by 
the  church  itself,  not  by  those  who  defied  its  authority, 
or  had  enlisted  among*  its  enemies  ;  at  the  same  time  she 


VITTOBIA    COLONNA  205 

displays  in  her  correspondence  a  spirit  of  tolerance  towards 
the  dissenters  that  seems  at  least  three  centuries  in  advance 
of  her  aoe :  and  she  was  not  alone  in  this.  The  most  beau- 
tif ul  women  of  the  century  —  Giulia  Conzaga,  duchess  of 
Traetto,  Costanza  d'  Avalos,  duchess  of  Amalfi,  and  Isabella 
Manriquez,  sister  of  the  cardinal  of  that  name  —  were  no 
less  ardent  followers  of  Juan  Valdes.  Isabella  was  obliged 
to  flee  across  the  Alps  to  escape  prison  or  the  scaffold  ;  but 
the  persecution  of  the  other  ladies  began,  happily,  only 
after  their  death,  as  we  shall  presently  see. 

The  centre  of  this  religions  movement  had  been  trans- 
ferred from  Naples  to  Viterbo,  where  one  of  the  leaders, 
Cardinal  Pole,  resided  as  papal  delegate  from  15-41  to  1545, 
and  where  Vittoria  herself  lived  in  the  monastery  of  Santa 
Caterina  in  1543  and  1541.  Reginald  Pole,  son  of  Rich- 
ard and  of  Margaret  of  Salisbury,  niece  of  the  two  kings 
Edward  IV  and  Richard  III,  had  been  obliged  to  leave 
England  in  haste  to  escape  froia  the  wrath  of  Henry  VIII, 
whose  behavior  toward  Anne  Boleyn  he  had  dared  to  con- 
demn. Paul  III  made  him  a  cardinal  in  1536,  and  this 
extraordinary  distinction  conferred  on  the  young  prelate 
made  King  Henry  so  furious  that  he  not  only  sent  to  the 
scaffold  Pole's  brother  and  mother  (the  latter  seventy-one 
years  old),  but  promised  a  reward  of  fifty  thousand  scudi  to 
any  one  who  would  take  the  cardinal's  life.  Whether  these 
particulars  are  absolutely  correct  or  not,  there  is  no  doubt 
that  he  was  the  victim  of  several  dastardly  attempts — thrice 
at  the  hands  of  Italian,  twice  of  English  emissaries.  Each 
of  the  Italians  was  pardoned  in  his  turn  by  Pole ;  the  Eng- 
lishmen, however,  were  branded  with  hot  iron  and  sent  to 
prison. 

The  basic  principle  of  the  reformers  congregated  at  Vi- 
terbo, in  Cardinal    Pole's    residence,  was   the    w^ell-known 


206  iirroinA  colo.wa 

(l<ictiim'  t»l'  *'  juslilicatioii  l»v  t'aitli,"  ;i  doctniit'  wliicli  liad 
bet'ii  a(l\()catt'tl  in  tlu'  coiitcrciic'e  of  llatisl)on  by  the  Catho- 
lic (h'l('i;att'  ('oiitait'iio,  as  well  as  by  the  Protestant  leader 
Melaiichtlion.  Prominent  anion*;'  the  sympathizers  with  Juan 
Valdes  in  the  meetings  at  Viterbo  were  Cardinal  Morone, 
(iiulia  Con/aga,  Alvise  Priuli,  Pietro  Carnesecchi,  Vermigli, 
Oeeliino.  and  \'ittoria  ;  and  it  was  only  the  lii^h  social 
standing  of  the  majority  of  these  personages  that  prevented 
the  Incjuisition  from  taking  inmiediate  steps  to  suppress  the 
movement. 

The  history  of  the  attempted  reform  in  Italy  cannot 
be  impartially  and  exhaustively  written  until  we  shall  be 
allowed  to  consult  the  original  documents  preserved  in  the 
archives  of  the  Sant'  Ullizio,  above  all  those  connected  with 
the  ghastly  periods  of  Paul  IV  and  Pius  V.  These  archives, 
however,  are  practically  inaccessible.  We  know  that  Paul 
111  drew  from  them  the  minutes  of  the  trial  of  Cardinal 
Pole,  at  the  recpiest  of  King  Philip  II,  and  Paul  IV  those 
of  the  trial  of  Carnesecchi,  at  the  request  of  Catherine 
de'  Medici;  but  these  must  be  considered  as  exceptions  to 
the  ride,  the  strictest  jealousy  being  exercised  in  guarding 
the  secret  of  the  trials  and  executions  of  dissenters  from  the 
o})inions  of  the  Curia. 

There  are  fortunately  other  sources  of  information,  with 
^\lli(•h  the  works  of  Amabile,  Corvisieri,  Berti,  Gaidoz,  Ben- 
rath,  Gherardi,  Fontana,  Manzoni,  and  De  Blasiis  have  made 
us  familiar  ;  such  are  the  fourteen  volumes  of  trials  of  the 
Sant'  Uttizio  (a.  1  r)(i4-l(359),  now  in  the  library  of  Trinity 
College,  Dublin  ;  the  state  archives  of  ]5ologna,  Mantua, 
Ferrara,  Venice,  and  Naples  ;  the  archives  of  the  Governa- 
tore  di  Roma,  and  the  diplomatic  reports  of  the  ambassadors 
of  the  feerenissima. 

How,  when,  and  by  whom  the  splendid  set  of  volumes  at 


i 


riTTORIA    COLONNA 


207 


Trinity  College  was  abstracted  from  the  Palazzo  dell'  Iiiqiii- 
sizione  is  still  a  matter  o£  conjecture.  Madden  in  his  Avork 
on  "Galileo  and  the  Inquisition,"  printed  at  Dublin  in  18G3, 
asserts  that  it  was  smuggled  away  by  a  French  officer  of 
General  Oudinot's  army,  after  the  capture  of  Rome  in  18^1:9, 
and  taken  to  Paris,  where  it  was  purchased  by  the  Duke  of 
Manchester.  The  duke  is  said  to  have  sold  it  to  an  Irish 
Protestant  clergyman,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Gibbings,  for  the  sum 
of  live  hundred  pounds.    He  in  his  turn  disposed  of  it  to 


The  Logg-ia  of  the  Pope's  palace  at  Viterbo,  where  Cardinal  Pole  resided 
as  lesate  from  1541  to  1545 


a  Dr.  Wall,  through  whose  bequest  it  ended  its  pere- 
grinations in  Trinity  College.  Silvestro  Gherardi,  minister 
of  public  instruction  at  the  time  of  the  republican  govern- 
ment of  1848-49,  says  ^  that  while  the  archives  of  the 
Inquisition  were  being  removed,  in  April,  1849,  from  the 

'  //  processo  <li  Galileo,  in  Rivista  Europea,  1870,  fasc.  i,  p.  4, 


'2(^S  VITTORIA    COLONNA 

Saiit'  rni/.io  j)ala(e  to  that  of  Sant'  Apolliiiare,  thefts  of 
(Idciiiiu'iits  wiTc  uii(l()iil>ti'(lly  committed,  Imt  none  of  such 
magnitude  as  to  Involve  the  loss  of  sixty-four  hug'e  and 
wcii;htv  volumes.'  The  supposition  that  probably  comes 
nearest  the  truth  is  that  the  theft  was  committed  at  the  time 
of  tiu'  lirst  Napoleonic  invasion. 

Next  in  importance  to  the  DubUn  volumes  comes  a  "  sum- 
mary of  the  processes  of  the  Sant'  Uttizio,  instituted  in  the 
time  of  Paul  III,  Julius  III,  and  Paul  IV,"'-  compiled  from 
the  most  secret  original  documents,  for  the  use  of  Giulio 
Antonio  kVintorio,  cardinal  of  Santaseverina  and  "consul- 
tor  "  to  the  Holy  Incpiisition.  The  cardinal's  nephew  and 
heir,  Paolo  Emilio,  made  a  present  of  the  "  Compendium  " 
to  Father  Antonio  Caracciolo,  a  member  of  the  order  of  the 
Teatins.  the  same  order  to  which  the  terrible  Paul  IV  had 
belonged  before  his  election.  It  contains  an  alphabetical 
list  of  one  hundred  and  twenty  names  of  heretics,  or  per- 
sons alleged  to  be  so,  including-  many  so  illustrious  and 
honorable  and  universally  respected  that  it  seems  to  have 
become  a  craze  with  the  dreaded  court  to  suspect  even  the 
noblest  and  holiest  men  of  the  period.  The  Sacred  College, 
for  instance,  is  represented  in  the  persecution  list  by  no  less 
than  thirteen  members,  Bembo,  Badia,  Contareno,  Cortese, 
Di  Fano,  Fregoso,  Pole,  Simonetta,  Sadoleto,  Sacripante, 
Sfrondato,  Madrucci,  and  Morone ;  the  episcopate  by  eleven 
bisiiops  and  archbishops ;  the  aristocracy  by  Ascanio  Co- 
lonna,  his  sister  Vittoria,  the  Duchess  of  Camerino,  and 
Renata  d'  Este.    We  learn  also  from  the  "Compendium" 

^  The  Trinity  College  set  comprises  fourteen  volumes  of  religious  trials  in 
matters  of  faith;  ten  of  bulls  and  briefs  from  the  time  of  Boniface  IX  to  that 
of  I'ius  VI  ;  and  about  forty  concerning  denunciations  and  trials  in  matters 
of  witchcraft  and  crime  in  general. 

''■  Compendium  processuum  Sancti  Officii  Romae,  qui  fuerunt  comjnlati  sub  Paulo 
III,  Jul  In  HI,  el  Paulo  IV. 


VITTOKIA    COLONNA  209 

the  fact  that  the  famous  book  "  Beneficio  di  Cristo  verso 
i  Cristiani"  (the  simple  possession  of  which  has  brought 
many  victims  to  the  scatt'old)  was  not  written  by  Paleario, 
as  commonly  asserted,  but  by  a  Benedictine  monk  of  San 


A  bird's-eye  view  of  the  palace  and  prisons  of  the  Inquisition,  taken  from 
the  top  of  the  dome  of  St.  Peter's 

Severino  named  Don  Benedetto,  a  disciple  of  Flaminio,  who 
himself  revised  the  proofs  of  the  Modena  edition/ 

A  careful  study  of  the  "  Compendium  "  (published  by 
Corvisieri  in  vol.  iii  of  the  "Archivio  della  Societa  Romana 
di  Storia  Patria")  shows  that  the  object  its  compiler  had 
mostly  in  view  was  to  lay  before  Cardinal  Santorio  the  facts 
connected  with  the  associates  of  Vittoria  Colonna,  because 
while  the  other  heretics  have  only  their  names  registered, 
with  perhaps  one  or  two  references  to  the  original  minutes 
of  the  trial  kept  in  the  archives  of  Rome,  every  individual 

^  Printed  by  Antonio  Gadaldino,  at  the  instigation  of  Cardinal  Morone. 


iMO  lITToniA     CULoyX.i 

wild  had  Ik'oii  (liivL'tIv  or  even  iiidirectly  associated  with 
tile  Maicliesa  di  IV-scaia  is  considered  worthy  of  much 
i;reater  consideration.  Kvi(U'ntly  the  deceased  hidy  had  be- 
come tile  nightmare,  the  incubus  oi  the  luquisitors  !  Asca- 
nio  ('oloiina  is  accused  of  having  yiekled  to  the  influence 
of  his  sister,  assisti'd  by  WAt'  and  Ochino  ;  Fra  Bernardo 
(h*'  Bartoli  of  having-  been  sent  by  the  nuirchesa  to  Modena 
to  spread  the  new  doctrines  from  thejndpit;  Cardinal  Bembo 
of  having  been  an  assiduons  visitor  at  her  palace  ;  Guido 
Giannetto,  Girolamo  Boni,  Gianbattista  Scoto,  of  the  same 
faiiiiliaritv  with  her;  Isabella,  a  Spanish  lady,  of  having 
been  prompted  by  her  to  discard  any  belief  in  the  interces- 
sion of  saints ;  the  nuns  in  whose  convents  she  had  found 
hospitalitv  after  the  death  of  Pescara,  to  have  become  tainted 
with  her  falhicies ;  Vittore  Soranzi,  bishop  of  Bergamo, 
'•  Lutheranus  maximus,"  to  have  corresponded  with  her  by 
letter ;  and  slie,  the  purest  and  noblest  of  women,  to  have 
entertained  for  Cardinal  Pole  an  affection  which  was  not 
j)urelv  spiritual  !  The  most  dangerous  witnesses  seem  to 
have  l)een  the  ignorant,  superstitious,  easily  influenced  nuns 
of  San  Silvestro  in  Capite,  among  whom  the  accused  had 
lived  in  1525  ;  those  of  San  Paolo  at  Orvieto,  where  she 
had  resided  in  1531  and  1544;  those  of  Santa  Caterina  at 
Viterbo,  of  whom  I  have  spoken  above  ;  and,  worst  of  all, 
the  Santuccie  nuns  of  Santa  Maria  in  Julia,  in  whose  com- 
pany she  spent  the  last  days  of  her  life. 

How  little  those  jndges,  who  had  the  power  of  torturing 
the  body  of  their  victims,  as  well  as  of  casting  opprobrium 
on  theii- memory,  understood  the  religious  revival,  the  spirit 
of  i)uriHcation  of  the  church  which  pervaded  the  peninsula 
in  the  time  of  Paul  III,  and  which  was  hailed  with  joy  by 
so  many  illustrious  cardinals,  bishops,  prelates,  and  by  the 
intellectual   portion    of    the    aristocracy !     The  Inquisitors 


VITTOIilA    COLONNA 


211 


believed  their  victims  to  be  conspiring-  for  the  overthrow  of 
the  Catholic  Church,  while  their  only  aim  was  its  elevation 
above  Avorldly  and  political  influences.  In  dealing  with 
these  questions  we  must  remember  that  the  Italians  who 
raised  their  voices  against  the  Curia,  before  and  during  the 


Cardinal  Pole 


Reformation,  were,  so  to  speak,  more  orthodox  than  the 
Curia  itself,  and  that  the  reforms  they  demanded  did  not  per- 
tain to  dogma  or  creed,  but  only  to  morals  and  discipline. 
The  fact  is,  that  in  such  matters  it  was  difficult  then,  as  it  is 
now,  to  keep  an  even  mind  and  to  judge  of  men  and  events 
in  an  impartial  spirit. 


'JI'J  VlTT()i;iA    COLONNA 

III  tlic  cailv  |);iit  of  tilt*  nineteenth  ceiiturv,  for  instance, 
it  became  tlie  fasliion  in  Kiij^land  to  represent  Dante  as  one 
of  the  prccnrsors  of  tlie  Kcforniation.  Two  Itahan  r('fn<>ees, 
wlio  were  also  men  of  oreat  (hstinction  in  (lie  Htcrary 
wdild.  I  i^'o  Foscolo  and  Dante  Gabriel  Rossetti,  ciicoui-a^ed 
tins  |tictcMsioii,  —  Foscolo  in  his  well-known  articles  in 
the  "FMinbiiroh  Review"  of  181S,  and  Rossetti  in  a  work 
entitled  "On  the  Anti-Papal  S})irit  tliat  produced  the  Re- 
fonnation."  Rossetti  maintained  that  after  the  dispersion 
of  the  Albioenses,  numerous  sects  were  formed  in  Italy 
iiotalily  the  Pastorelli,  the  Flagelkuiti,  and  the  Fraticelli, 
who  prej)ared  the  way  for  Wycliife,  Huss,  and  Luther. 
Side  by  side  with  this  was  a  literary  secret  society  to  which 
Dante,  Petrarch,  and  Boccaccio  belonged.  Their  object  was 
to  promote  civil  and  religious  liberty,  of  which  Beatrice, 
Laura,  and  P^'iammetta  were  the  symbolic  types.  Their  lan- 
guage was  a  jargon,  the  secret  of  which  is  lost.  St.  Cath- 
erine of  Siena's  exhortations  to  Pope  Gregory  XT  have  also 
been  viewed  in  this  light.  Rossetti's  statements  about  the 
secret  sects  in  the  middle  ages  are  devoid  of  foundation, 
and  as  for  the  denunciations  by  Dante  and  St.  Catherine  of 
the  mismanagement  of  the  church,  they  by  no  means  imply 
unsettled  faith  or  revolutionary  designs.  "  It  is,"  writes 
Dean  Church,  "  confusing  the  feelings  of  the  middle  ages 
with  our  own,  to  convert  every  fierce  atttick  on  the  popes 
into  an  anticipation  of  Luther."  "  We  protest,"  writes 
.lames  Russell  Lowell,  '^  against  the  parochial  criticism  which 
would  degrade  Dante  into  a  mere  partisan,  which  sees  in 
him  a  reformer  in  embryo,  and  would  clap  the  honnet  rouge, 
the  Phrygian  cap  of  liberty,  upon  his  heavenly  muse." 
From  the  very  first  appearance  of  the  "  Divina  Commedia  " 
the  church  recognized  that  the  attacks  of  Dante  were  the 
voice  of  a  friend,  and  that  it  would  have  been  an  absurdity 


riTTORIA    COLONNA 


213 


to  condemn  a  poem  which  was  the  most  eloquent  expression 
of  its  own  essential  ideas.  And  yet  I  doubt  very  much 
whether  the  Inquisitors  of  Pope  Caraffa,  in  the  heat  of  the 
persecution  of  the  heretics,  with  eyes  and  reason  blinded  by 
the  fierceness  of  the  struggle,  would  not  have  found  in  the 
"  Divina  Commedia  "  enough  evidence  to  have  the  poet  con- 
victed, and  made  to  share  the  fate  of  other  enemies  of  the 
church. 

A  reminiscence  of  these  cruel  times  is  to  be  found  in  the 
monument  raised  lately  in  the  Piazza  di  Campo  de'Fiori  to 
the  memory  of  Giordano 
Bruno.  When,  a  few 
years  ago,  the  anti-re- 
ligious and  anti-clerical 
societies  determined  to 
erect  in  Rome  a  memo- 
rial of  what  they  called 
the  moral  downfall  of 
the  papacy,  they  selected 
as  representative  of  their 
extremist  views  the  fig- 
ure of  Bruno,  who  had 
been  burned  at  the  stake 
in  the  same  market-place 
of  Campo  de'  Fiori.  The 
choice  Avas  not  a  happy 
one,  and  the  absurdity 
of  the  plan  will  be  mani- 
fest to  any  one  who  re- 
members  the   fact   that 

I  ,  .,  ,  p   TVT    1  The  statue  of  Giordano  Bruno  in  the 

the  philosopher  of  Nola  Campo  de'  Fiori 

was  as  much  of  a  believer 

as  the  most  devout  Catholic,  and  that  he  gave  up  his  life  not 


'J14  \ITT()i:i.\    roLoXXA 

for  aiiv  (|ii('s(i(m  coniu'ctiMl  with  tluMloctriiies  of  the  church, 
but  for  its  mural  puritii-ation. 

I  must  now  invcsti<;ate  another  j)oint  of  the  controversy, 
witli  which  Vittoria  Colonna  is  personally  connected;  namely, 
the  inriuence  wliitli  Kenee  tie  France  and  Calvm  may  have 
exercised  upon  her  and  upon  Itahan  reformers  in  general, 
from  the  dueal  castle  of  Ferrara.  in  Avhich  they  had  estab- 
lished their  headcjuarters. 

There  is  an  incident  in  the  career  of  Calvin  which  has  not 
yet  been  satisfactorily  explained  by  his  biogra})hers,  —  his 
sudden  flight  from  the  field  of  battle  in  the  autumn  of 
l^li"),  just  after  the  publication  of  the  preface  to  his  incen- 
diary treatise,  '"  The  Institutes  of  the  Christian  Religion." 
What  was  his  purpose  in  fleeing  from  France  ?  Although 
rather  shv  by  nature,  as  he  acknowledges  himself  to  be  in 
the  preface  to  the  Psalms  (natura  timido  ac  pusillo  animo 
me  esse  fateor),  he  did  not  habitually  shirk  res])onsibilities. 
Did  he  wish  to  await  developments  without  exposing  him- 
self to  undue  risks?  or  did  he  feel  the  necessity  of  seeking 
a  milder  climate  than  that  of  Alsace  to  strenothen  his  failinsf 
health  ?  I  believe  the  true  reason  of  his  flight  into  Italy  to 
be  the  one  stated  by  Emmanuel  Rodocanachi  in  his  excellent 
volume  on  Renee  de  France.  Calvin  was  planning  to  startle 
the  world  with  a  master  stroke,  —  the  creation  of  a  Protest- 
ant state  in  the  very  heart  of  the  peninsula,  face  to  face 
with  Rome.  And  he  had  reason  to  anticii)ate  success  in  the 
state  of  Ferrara,  ruled  at  that  time  by  Duke  Ercole  II  and 
his  wife  Renee,  daughter  of  King  Louis  XII  and  Anne  de 
Bretagne. 

In  her  new  residence  the  young  duchess  had  surrounded 
herself  with  secretaries,  almoners,  poets,  readers,  of  French 
extraction,  all  imbued  with  the  reforming  principles  of 
the  court  of  Navarre,  the  leading  spirit   of  which,   Mar- 


THK    DICAL    PALACE    AT    P^HRR 

SECRET    iMEETI> 


A'W 


WHERE    RENEE    D'ESTE    HELD 
J    WITH    CALVIN 


VI T  TORI  A    COLONNA  215 

fifuerite,  was  the  best  friend  and  the  most  faithful  cor- 
respondent  of  Renee.  Calvin,  therefore,  repaired  to  Ferrara, 
under  the  assumed  name  of  Espeville,  accompanied  by 
Canon  Dutillet,  one  of  his  ardent  disciples.  They  were 
kindly  received  by  Renee,  and  provided  with  money  and 
the  necessaries  of  life.  Little  or  nothing,  however,  is 
know^n  of  their  meetings,  which  generally  took  place  at 
night  and  in  the  presence  of  very  few  witnesses ;  but  from 
a  passage  in  a  letter  written  by  the  reformer  two  years 
later  in  which  he  says,  "  I  have  noticed  in  you  a  great  fear 
of  God  and  a  faithful  affection  to  the  pure  principles  of 
the  faith,"  there  is  no  doubt  that  the  duchess  had  made 
Calvin  her  spiritual  adviser.  A  Franciscan  monk,  questioned 
by  the  Inquisition,  testified  to  having  assisted  one  night 
in  Lent  at  a  religious  meeting  in  the  rooms  of  the  duchess, 
when  a  Frenchman  unknown  to  hiln  spoke  words  of  fire 
against  the  authority  of  the  Church  and  the  supremacy  of 
the  Pope.  Was  this  violent  interlocutor  Calvin  himself  or 
his  official  representative  at  the  court  of  Ferrara,  Clement 
Marot?  Though  w^e  cannot  answer  this  question,  there  is 
no  doubt  that  the  voice  of  Calvin  was  listened  to  with 
great  complacency  by  the  citizens  of  Ferrara.  The  parti- 
sans of  the  Reformation,  or,  to  speak  more  exactly,  the 
enemies  of  the  See  of  Rome,  were  very  numerous  there, 
and  a  spirit  of  criticism,  almost  revolutionary,  prevailed  in 
the  class-rooms  of  its  university.  The  Ferrara  professors 
were  not  strong  on  orthodoxy,  and  the  doctrines  of  the 
German  innovators  found  great  credence  among  them,  —  so 
much  so  that  a  member  of  the  faculty,  named  jNIanzolli,  had 
offered  to  Duke  Hercules  II  a  book  entitled  "  The  Zodiac 
of  Life,"  in  which  the  monks  were  called  brutes,  the  Pope 
an  atheist,  and  Luther  an  avenger. 

Considering  this  state   of  things,  and   considering  also 


•J  1  ( ■>  \lTTolHA    (■  OL OXXA 

tliiit  liowevcr  (li'votitl  tlic  lower  classes  were  to  the  form  and 
litup'-v  (•!'  tluir  climrli,  the  leHgioiis  nioveineiit  in  Germany 
liad  oertainlv  attracted  the  attention  of  the  intellectuals,  we 
cannot  wonih'r  that  Calvin  should  have  believed  if  possible 
to  establish  at  Ferrara,  by  a  coup  dc  )n((ln,  the  same  gov- 
crnnu'nt  wliich  in  like  maiuier  he  succeeded  in  establishing 
a  few  years  later  at  Geneva.  All  these  plans  of  Calvin  fell 
to  the  ground  on  Good  Friday,  April  14,  151)0,  owing  to  the 
imprudence  of  one  of  his  followers.  On  that  day,  while  the 
parish  priest  of  the  church  of  St.  Francesco  was  presenting 
the  cross  for  the  veneration  of  the  faithful,  a  young  man  of 
twenty,  named  Zannetto,  or  Jeannet,  attached  to  the  court 
of  lienee  as  a  choir-hoy,  burst  out  with  the  most  violent 
blasphemies.  He  was  imiirisoned  the  same  night,  and  was 
denounced  to  the  court  of  the  Inquisition.  This  apparently 
unimportant  event  was  the  cause  of  the  failure  of  Calvin's 
scheme  at  Ferrara.  The  French  and  the  Venetian  ambassa- 
dors took  up  the  cause  of  the  youth  against  the  Spanish 
minister  and  the  papal  nuncio,  and  soon  after  all  the  cabi- 
nets of  Europe  were  busying  themselves  with  the  fate  of 
Zannetto,  because  he  was  considered  to  represent  not  an  indi- 
vidual but  a  principle.  I  shall  not  tire  the  reader  Avith  the 
jtarticulars  of  this  diplomatic  and  religious  controversy,  in 
which  Pope  Paul  III,  Francis  I,  and  other  potentates  took 
a  prominent  part.  It  ended  in  this  way  :  On  July  l-Jt 
the  piincipal  actor  in  this  drama  of  Ferrara,  a  man  who 
had  been  imprisoned  by  the  Inipiisition  as  a  leader  of  the 
movement,  and  whose  name  that  dreaded  court  kept  secret, 
esca})ed  from  his  cell  and  was  never  arrested  again.  Who 
was  this  leader?  If  certain  insinuations  of  the  process  are 
to  be  l)elieved,  the  escaped  prisoner  was  Canon  Bouchefort, 
the  fi/ft  r  cf/o  of  Calvin ;  but  we  know  better  from  a  passage 
of  Muratori,  overlooked  by  the  historians  of  the  Reforma- 


THE    CATHEDR 


OF    FERRARA 


VITTORIA    COLONNA  217 

tion.  Muratori  says  that  the  prisoner  was  Calvin  himself, 
and  that  he  was  set  free  by  a  party  of  horsemen  engaged 
by  the  French  ambassador  and  the  Duchess  Renee,  while  he 
was  being  transferred  from  one  jail  to  another.  Such  was 
the  end  of  the  dream  of  Calvin  so  far  as  Ferrara  and  Italy 
were  concerned. 

It  was  at  this  anxious  moment  and  under  the  pressure  of 
these  burdens  that  Renee  sought  help  and  comfort  in  Vit- 
toria  Colonna,  who  spent  about  ten  months  at  the  court 
of  the  Este,  in  a  Calvinistic  entourage.  Vittoria's  intimacy 
with  the  duchess  is  proved  by  the  fact  of  her  having  l)een 
chosen  as  a  godmother  to  the  first-born  child  of  the  ducal 
couple,  the  famous  Eleonora  d'  Este,  the  insjjirer  and  the 
evil  genius  of  Tasso. 

If  we  ask  why  the  Reformation,  which  found  so  many 
illustrious  supporters,  ended  in  absolute  failure  so  far  as 
Italy  is  concerned,  the  answer  can  easily  be  given.  Re- 
formation, as  I  said  above,  was  a  luxury  for  the  nobility,  the 
higher  clergy,  and  the  intellectuals.  The  low^er  classes,  form- 
ing the  overwhelming  majority  of  the  population,  unedu- 
cated and  illiterate  as  they  were,  saw  in  the  innovators  the 
enemies  of  their  country,  of  their  parish  priests,  of  the  Pope 
himself;  and  besides,  they  were  profoundly  attached  to 
the  external  form  of  their  faith,  so  appealing  to  southern 
imaginations.  Theological  controversies  on  abstruse  points 
left  the  average  Italians  absolutely  unconcerned :  either 
they  followed  the  worship  of  their  forefathers  or  they  fol- 
lowed nothing.  Moreover,  the  Italians  have  never  taken 
up  such  disputes  in  the  gloomy  and  tragic  manner  of  other 
nations,  beyond  the  Alps ;  no  religious  war  of  any  impor- 
tance has  ever  been  fought  in  their  country;  and  even  the 
Inquisition,  however  eager  to  show  its  zeal  under  the  eyes 
of  the   Pontiff,  found  fewer  victims  in  the  States  of  the 


218  1/ /"/'(>/:/. I   ((>/j).\XA 

CIiukIi  than  in  other  Catholic  coiiiitiics.  Wlu'ii  an  Italian 
<-anu'  hack  to  his  native  city  I'lom  his  |»ilL;iiniai;-e  ad  IhiiuKi, 
his  |»iirse  niav  liave  heen  enij)!}'  and  his  healtli  out  of  order, 
hut  his  faith  liad  n<»t  hi-en  shaken  like  Luther's.  This 
marked  indilVerence  anions;-  the  lower,  and  this  thirst  for 
refi)rniation  anioiii;-  tlie  ui)})er  ehisses,  led  to  this  reniarkahle 
resnlt,  that  Italy  is  a  land  whicdi  has  produced  more  heresi- 
archs  and  fewer  heresies. 

1  have  heen  ohlioed  to  enter  into  these  details  because 
without  them  it  would  have  heen  impossible  for  my  readers 
to  understand  the  mystery  of  the  hasty  burial  and  subse- 
(pient  disa])pearance  of  Vittoria's  body.  The  lady  felt  the 
first  symptoms  of  the  fatal  malady  in  January.  1547,  ^vhile 
an  inmate  (»f  the  Convent  of  8ant'  Anna  de  Funari,  Avhich 
then  stood  surrounded  by  the  remains  of  the  "  Porticus 
Pompeiauae  "  (the  gardens  and  colonnades  attached  to  the 
theatre  of  Ponipey  the  Great).  She  had  entered  this  last 
station  in  her  monastic  pilgrimaoe  in  January,  1545,  and 
from  this  date  onwards  all  her  legal  acts  are  signed  "actum 
Romae  in  ecclesia  Sanctae  Annae  in  Regione  Arenulae." 
As  the  illness  grew  nu)re  alarming,  and  fears  of  a  fatal 
issue  arose,  Vittoria  was  removed  to  the  palace  of  the  Cesa- 
rini,  her  nearest  kinsmen.'  This  palace  still  exists,  although 
thoroughly  modernized,  and  faces  the  Teatro  Argentina  on 
one  side  and  the  Piazza  Strozzi  on  the  other.  Here  she 
dictated  and  signed  her  \vill.  containing  among  others  the 
following  clause  :  "  I  desire  that  soon  after  my  death,  the 
abbess  of  the  convent  [of  Sant'  Anna  de  Funari],  Avhere  I 
have  found  hospitality  lately,  shall  select  my  last  resting- 
place,  and  shall  bury  mv  body  in  the  monastic  manner." 
Vittoria  die(l   at   the  seventeenth  hour  of  the  25th  of  Feb- 

'  (Jiiilia  Coloiina,  N'ittoria's  cousin,  liad  married  (iiuliaiio  Cesarini,  the  liead 
of  that  powerful  family,  and  standard-bearer  or  gonfaloiiiere  of  the  S.  P.  Q.  11. 


VITTOIUA    COLONNA  219 

ruary,  1547,  after  having-  signed  a  will  and  a  codicil,  the 
originals  of  which  are  to  be  fonnd  in  the  protocols  of  the 
notary  Piroti  in  the  Archivio  Notarile  di  Roma. 

Condivi  gives  a  ])athetic  account  of  Michelangelo's  last 
sight  of  her  beloved  face.  "  In  particular,  he  greatly  loved 
the  Marchesa  di  Pescara,  of  whose  divine  spirit  he  was 
enamoured,  being  in  return  dearly  beloved  by  her.  He  still 
preserves  many  of  her  letters  breathing  honorable  and  most 
tender  affection.  .  .  .  He,  for  his  part,  loved  her  so  that  I 
remember  to  have  heard  him  say  that  he  regretted  nothing 
except  that,  when  he  went  to  visit  her  upon  the  moment  of 
her  passage  from  this  life,  he  did  not  kiss  her  forehead  or 
her  face,  as  he  did  kiss  her  hand.  Her  death  was  the  cause 
that  oftentimes  he  dwelt  astonied,  thinking-  of  it,  even  as 
a  man  bereft  of  sense."  '  Marcantonio  Flaminio,  who  also 
was  present  at  the  fatal  moment,  in  a  poem  exuberant  with 
feelino's  of  love  and  admiration  declares  her  loss  to  be  a 
public  calamity."  The  room  in  which  the  admirable  woman 
died  opened  on  the  garden  of  the  palace,  the  name  of  which 
(Palazzo  Argentina)  is  still  attached  to  one  of  the  neighbor- 
ino;  streets. 

The  body  was  undoubtedly  removed  to  the  church  of 
Sant'  Anna,  according  to  the  provision  of  her  will ;  but 
such  was  the  cowardly  fear  which  seized  all  those  who  had 
been  associated  with  the  deceased  lady,  lest  the  Inquisition 
should  involve  them  in  the  disgrace  witli  which  her  mem- 
ory was  threatened,  that  the  coffin  was  abandoned  in  a 
corner  of  the  chapel,  without  any  display  of  those  impres- 
sive ceremonies  with  which  the  Catholic  Church  is  wont  to 

1  Translation  of  Christopher  Hare,  The  Most  Illustrious  Ladies  of  the  Italian 
Renaissance,  p.  306. 

^  M.  Antonii  Flaminii  Forocorneliensis  carmina.  Padua,  1727,  Book  IV, 
p.  113  ;  Book  V,  p.  149. 


220  VITTomA    rOLOXXA 

lienor  its  dead.  And  yet  slie  had  been  kind  and  grateful 
to  them  for  tlioir  niiserahle  hos})itality  to  the  very  day  of 
her  death,  leavino-  fifty  seudi  to  be  distributed  "  inter  illas 
(luae  iua«;ls  i'ueiiml  assi(hiae  in  iiilinnitate  doniinae  testa- 
tricis."  KvtMT  one  of  the  executors  ai)pointed  by  the  will 
disapiteared  at  the  last  moment.  The  abbess^  and  the  nuns 
abandoned  the  chapel  and  withdrew  to  the  most  secluded 
part  of  their  estal)lishment,  and  even  Cardinal  Pole,  1  am 
sorrv  to  say,  renounced  his  ''  protectorship  of  the  will"  (la 
protezione  del  testamento)  —  he  who,  on  March  5,  had 
written  to  Cardinal  Madruccio  a  letter  mourning-  over  the 
loss  of  his  '•  mother  in  Christ "  and  his  "  most  faithful 
adviser."  See  the  "  Epistulae  Reginaldi  Poli,"  printed  at 
Brescia  in  1752,  Book  IV,  n.  81.  Praise,  then,  be  given  to 
Lorenzo  Bonorio  from  Cittji  di  Castello,  an  old  and  faithful 
client  of  the  Colonna,  who  dared  to  face  the  situation  and 
see  that  the  wishes  of  his  beloved  mistress  were  carried  into 
execution.  His  letters  to  Vittoria's  brother,  Ascanio,  the 
head  of  the  family,  contain  the  following  details,  by  means 
of  which  we  have  been  able  to  rediscover,  after  three  and  a 
half  centuries,  the  missing  remains  of  the  marchesa. 

The  body  was  enclosed  in  a  wooden  coffin  coated  with 
tar,  and  left  on  the  tioor  of  the  church,  against  the  left- 
hand  side  wall,  until  at  least  the  fifteenth  day  of  the 
following  March.  At  that  date  Bonorio  was  still  waiting 
for  instructions  from  Ascanio  Colonna,  who  had  taken 
refuse  at  Avezzano  from  the  troubles  of  the  so-called 
"  guerra  del  Sale  ;  "  but  they  never  came,  —  the  only  docu- 
ment pertaining  to  the  case  being  Aseanio's  letter  of  au- 

•  The  ii;mic  of  this  feeble  ahl)ess  was  Domiii  Filippa.  She  liad  taken  the 
place  of  Donna  Massiniilla  de  Scipioni  (who  died  June  18,  lo4()),  and  governed 
the  establishment  till  the  end  of  1550.  At  the  time  of  the  death  of  Vittoria 
it  counted  about  forty  inmates. 


■s: 


,-  -  ^ 

c  < 

z  z 

-  q 


VITTORIA    COLONNA  223 

thorization  to  a  Messer  Pietro  Diaz  to  take  possession  of 
Vittoria's  inheritance.  Left  to  his  own  devices,  Bonorio 
announced  in  a  last  letter  that  he  had  determined  to  have 
the  coffin  enclosed  in  an  outer  one,  covered  with  Idack  vel- 
vet, and  j3laced  in  a  grave  hollowed  out  of  the  side  wall 
of  the  church,  at  the  height  of  five  or  six  feet  above  the 
floor.  Were  these  plans  carried  into  execution,  or  did  some- 
thing happen  in  the  mean  time  which  forced  Bonorio  to 
remove  the  remains  to  a  safer  place  ? 

The  outer  case  Avas  surely  made,  as  is  proved  by  the  fol- 
lowing passage  of  the  last-mentioned  letter,  dated  March  5  : 
"  I  have  found  at  the  bank  only  one  hundred  and  seventy 
scndi  of  gold  [the  bulk  of  Vittoria's  money  was  deposited 
in  Venice],  of  which  one  hundred  were  given  to  tlie  phy- 
sicians, and  seventy  advanced  for  the  cover  of  embroidered 
velvet.  However,  as  these  are  insufficient  to  meet  the  ex- 
pense, either  you  must  forward  the  balance,  or  I  shall  be 
compelled  to  sell  the  silver  I  have  at  hand." 

When  the  church  and  convent  of  Sant'  Anna  de  Fnnari 
were  condemned  to  destruction  in  1887,  to  make  room  for 
the  new  Via  Arenula,^  the  late  Commendatore  C.  L.  Visconti 
and  myself  were  commissioned  by  the  City  Council  to  watch 
the  demolition  of  the  edifice  with  the  utmost  care,  in  the 
hope  that  the  remains  of  the  marchesa  might  be  found  in 
some  remote  place  of  concealment.  Our  vigilance,  however, 
led  to  no  results  ;  and  although  every  brick  and  stone  was 
duly  examined  down  to  the  level  of  the  foundations,  not 
only  did  we  not  come  across  the  coffin  coated  with  tar,  but 
we  found  no  grave  at  all.    It  is  true  that  in  consequence 

i  The  convent  and  church,  originally  called  Santa  Maria  in  Julia,  were  the 
headquarters  in  Rome  of  the  Kniglits  Templars.  The  Grand  Master,  Jacopo 
della  Molara,  in  1293,  made  a  present  of  both  to  a  pious  woman  from  Gubbio, 
named  Donna  Santiiccia  Terrebotti,  the  founder  of  a  reformed  order  of  Fran- 
ciscan nuns,  named  from  lier  the  Santuccie. 


•_'•_' 1  VlTT()l:l.\    COLOXXA 

oi'  ;i  Hull  of  ro|>»'  Pills  \',  issued  in  l.KJO,  all  the  bodies 
liurifd  in  tluiiclu's  alxirc  the  level  of  the  lioor  had  been 
lowered,  and  in  many  cases  thrown  into  the  common  fosse 
under  tlic  nave;  but  consiiK-riiig-  that  when  these  things 
hanpencd  and  this  desecration  of  ancient  g'raves  took  place, 
Marco  Antonio  Colonna,  the  nephew  of  Vittoria,  was  the 
hero  of  the  day,  that  the  laurels  he  had  won  at  the  battle  of 
Lepanto  were  still  fresh,  and  that  city  and  Pope  alike  were 
heaping  uixm  liiin  distinction  upon  distinction  and  privilege 
updii  j)rivilege,  we  cannot  accept  the  theory  that  the  pre- 
cious relics  of  his  annt  should,  just  at  that  time,  have  been 
treated  with  contempt  and  thrown  into  the  common  "  ossa- 
riutii."  Moreover,  such  an  act  would  have  been  against  the 
eanons  of  the  Church  itself. 

^\'t'  must,  besides,  take  into  cousideratiou  the  fact  that  the 
church  of  Sant'  Anna  was  modernized  at  the  beginning  of 
the  seventeenth  century  by  the  architect  Girolamo  Rainaldi ; 
but  the  changes  made  at  that  time  were  only  superficial, 
and  concerned  the  decoration  of  the  chapels  and  altars  more 
than  the  structure  of  the  building  itself,  as  is  proved  by 
the  fact  that  the  frescoes  of  Pierino  del  Vaga  survived  the 
transformation  without  injury. 

There  remained  two  surmises  to  be  taken  into  considera- 
tion :  First,  that  the  cofhn  had  been  secretly  removed  from 
Konie  before  or  when  the  posthumous  trial  against  the 
marchesa  was  initiated  by  the  LKpiisition  ;  secondly,  that  it 
had  been  concealed  somewhere  within  the  precincts  not  of 
the  church  but  of  the  cloisters  of  Sant'  Anna.  Our  explo- 
ration of  ISST  having  shown  that  the  latter  was  not  the 
case,  the  attention  of  those  who  wished  the  problem  solved 
was  directed  to  other  cities,  ancient  fiefs  of  the  Colonna, 
such  as  Marino,  the  birthplace  of  Vittoria  and  Paliano,  the 
chief  stronglu.ld  of  the  Connetable  Ascanio ;  but  nowhere 


I 


VI T  TORI  A    COLONNA 


225 


was  a  clue  obtained.  The  merit  of  having  found  at  last  the 
original  coffin  coated  with  tar,  and  the  authentic  remains 
of  Michelangelo's  dearest  friend,  belongs  to  Dr.  Bruto 
Amante,  the  well-known  biographer  of  Giulia  Conzaga. 
From  his  memoir,  "  La  Tomba  di  Vittoria  Colonna,"  pub- 
lished by  Zanichelli  at  Bologna  in  1896,  I  gather  the 
following  remarkable  particulars  :  Starting  with  the  consid- 
eration that  Vittoria  expresses  more  than  once  in  her  poems 


The  sacristy  of  the  church  of  San  Domenico  Maggiore,  at  Naples,  where  the  remains 
of  Vittoria  Colonna  were  found 

the  wish  to  be  reunited  to  her  beloved  husband  in  their 
last  resting-place,  that  the  husband  had  been  Iniried  in  the 
church  of  San  Domenico  Maggiore  in  the  city  of  Naples, 
and  that  Naples  was  at  the  time  of  her  death  a  much  safer 
place  from  the  grip  of  the  Inquisition  than  Rome  or  Marino 
or  Paliano,  Dr.  Amante  began  his  investigations  in  the 
sacristy  of  the  above-mentioned  church,  which  contains  not 
less  than  forty-five   coffins  of  illustrious   members   of  the 


22G 


VITTOh'IA    ((fLoXXA 


Neapolitan  aristociafv,  mostly  t'ldiii  the  house  of  Aragona. 
These  conins  are  located  all  louiul  the  walls,  above  the 
screens  ami  wardrolies  containiiii;'  the  sacred  vessels  and 
indiinieiits,  in  a  sort  of  ^allerv  or  halcony,  of  which  the 
tojts  (if  the  wardroiies  i'onn  the  floor.  Here  he  discovered, 
uuicli  to  his  surj»ri>e.  not  one  hnt  two  coffins  inscril)ed  with 
the  name  of  the  hero  of  the  hattle  of  Pavia.  The  upper 
of  the  two,  verv  large,  with  a  sword  and  a  pennant  nailed 
on  the  lid.  hears  the  following  epitaph:  (Here  lies)  "Fer- 
dinand (TAvalos  of  A ([ui no,  Marquess  of  Pescara."  The 
lower  and  smaller  one  shows  likewise  the  words,  painted 
in  hlack  on  a  white  scroll:  "Francis  Ferdinand  d'Avalos 
of  Afpiino,  Mar(|uess  of  Pescara,  vicar-general  in  Italy  of 
lli>  .\hijesty  the  Emperor,  died  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  one 
thousand  live  hundred  and  twenty-five." 

Dr.  Amante  was  therefore  confronted  with  two  coffins 
liel(»nging  to  the  same  individual,  as  proved  by  the  sword 
and  the  pennant  nailed  on  the  first, —  the  insignia  of  a 
g^eneral,  —  and  by  the  precise  date  1525  inscribed  on  the 
other.  There  was  only  one  way  to  solve  the  riddle,  viz.,  to 
examine  the  contents  of  each.  Havintr  obtained  leave  from 
the  archbishop,  as  well  as  from  the  minister  o.  public  in- 
struction, and  secured  the  help  of  several  men  of  science, 
he  opened  Hrst  the  lower  and  smaller  of  the  two.  There 
were  the  remains  of  an  individual  of  the  male  sex,  of  middle 
size  and  age,  with  traces  of  dark  hair  on  the  skull.  Such 
characteristics  led  them  to  believe  that  the  legend  of  the 
scroll  spoke  the  truth,  and  that  the  coffin  really  contained 
the  remains  of  Vittoria's  husband,  who  had  died  in  1525. 
Inside  the  up})er  coffin  they  found  the  long-lost  bier,  coated 
with  tar,  with  the  skeleton  of  an  individual  of  the  female 
sex,  about  fifty  years  of  age.  The  skeleton  was  still  par- 
tially enveloped  in  a  shroud  of  coarse  linen,  also  besmeared 


VI T  TOE  I  A    COLONNA  227 

with  tar.  A  closer  analysis  of  the  contents  revealed  the  fact 
that  the  woman  had  been  laid  to  rest  dressed  in  a  shirt  of 
the  finest  linen,  with  a  lace  collar  fastened  round  the  throat 
by  three  bands  or  lacings.  The  sleeves  also  were  fringed 
with  lace.  There  were  traces  of  other  articles  of  underwear 
which  I  find  rather  too  technical  to  be  described  in  a  paper 
of  this  kind.  The  hair,  unmistakably  blonde,  was  covered 
by  a  silk  hood.  These  particulars  (and  many  others  of  lesser 
value)  were  registered  in  a  document,  dated  December  9, 
1894,  and  signed  by  Angelo  Zuccarelli,  professor  of  an- 
thropology in  the  University  of  Naples ;  by  Father  Maiella, 
rector  of  San  Domenico ;  by  Signor  di  Maio,  representative 
of  the  minister  of  public  instruction  ;  by  Dr.  Amante,  the 
discoverer,  and  by  other  witnesses  of  repute. 

I  must  acknowledge  that  the  vague  tradition  of  the  trans- 
fer of  Vittoria's  body  from  Rome  to  Naples,  and  of  her  in- 
terment in  one  of  the  churches  of  that  city,  had  never  died 
out  among  the  descendants  of  Ascanio  Colonna ;  and  the 
late  Prince  Don  Giovanni  Andrea  used  to  repeat  over  and 
over  again,  while  Visconti  and  I  were  engaged  in  the  fruit- 
less search  of  1887  at  Sant'  Anna  de  Funari,  that  we  were 
wasting  our  time,  because  he  knew  the  body  of  his  illus- 
trious ancestor  was  to  be  found  in  Naples. 

After  the  interesting  story  I  have  related,  the  reader  will 
probably  suppose  that  the  discovery  of  Vittoria's  grave  was 
welcomed  with  a  thrill  of  enthusiasm  from  one  extremity  to 
the  other  of  the  Peninsula  ;  that  the  Italian  literary  and 
historical  societies  celebrated  the  event  in  a  manner  befit- 
ting its  importance  ;  and  that  a  monument  to  her,  or  maybe 
to  both  heroes  of  my  story,  must  have  been  raised  in  the 
capital  of  modern  Italy,  and,  more  precisely,  in  that  Piazza 
Arenula  which  occupies  the  site  of  the  church  and  convent 
of  Sant'  Anna,  demolished  in  1887.    None  of  these  things 


li.iNc  coine  to  pass.  'I'lu*  coHiiis  of  tliu  most  cultured  lady 
ami  of  tilt'  most  valiant  knii;lit  of  the  sixteenth  century  still 
lie  half  forg'otten  in  the  sacristy  of  San  Domenico  j\Iag- 
«»iore,  and  the  site  of  the  expected  monuuu  nt  in  the  Piazza 
Aicnnla  lia.s  hccn  usurped  liv  the  statue  of  a  playwriter, 
whose  name  can  hardly  he  known  heyond  the  walls  of  his 
native  citv.  it  is  reallv  surprisino'  how  modern  Rome  seems 
to  have  lost  the  recollection  of  the  aug'ust  men  and  women 
t(»  whom  she  owes  her  greatness.  If  we  except  the  memo- 
rials raised  in  honor  of  the  founders  of  modern  Italy,  — 
Victor  Ennnanuel.  Cavour,  Garihaldi,  and  Quintmo  Sella, 
—  which  are  heautiful  and  worthy  of  the  great  names  they 
hear,  all  the  other  puhlic  squares  of  the  city  have  heen 
giMMi  up  to  nu)iiuments  of  outsiders  of  modest  fame,  or  of 
IK)  fame  at  all.  The  last  of  these  memorials  had  actually 
so  little  rniso))  (rctrc  that  —  to  avoid  a  hostile  demonstra- 
tion and  a  puhlic  scandal  —  it  Avas  unveiled  hy  stealth  at  two 
o'clock  in  the  morning  and  in  the  presence  only  of  half  a 
dozen  poli(«'nieii. 


CHAPTER   VI 


RAPHAEL 


After  nearly  four  centuries  o£  biographical  research,  and 
the  publication  of  a  stupendous  number  of  volumes  and 
pamphlets,  many  incidents  in  the  life  of  Raphael  still  remain 
shrouded  in  mystery.  They  have  been  transmitted  to  us, 
through  the  lapse  of  time,  more  as  popular  legends  than 
as  facts  established  by  contemporary  evidence.  We  have 
not  succeeded,  for  instance,  in  discovering  the  text  of  his 
will,  although  every  archive  has  been  searched  and  ran- 
sacked in  quest  of  it,  especially  by  Adam  Rossi ;  ^  and  yet 
we  know  that  Raphael,  already  in  the  grip  of  death,  dictated 
such  a  document  to  his  notary  on  or  about  the  fourth  day 
of  April  of  the  year  1520,  because  mention  of  its  existence 
occurs  in  other  legal  papers  of  the  time. 

Another  dubious  side  of  Raphael's  career  is  the  one  con- 
cernino'  his  love  entanolements,  two  of  which  have  become 
especially  conspicuous  :  his  betrothal  to  Maria  Bibbiena  and 
his  liaison  with  the  handsome  girl  from  the  Trastevere 
known  as  the  "  daughter  of  the  baker."  There  were  prob- 
ably others,  notwithstanding  the  attempts  made  by  certain 
biographers  to  depict  him  as  an  angel  on  earth,  a  fore- 
runner of  St.  Louis  Conzaga,  worthy  of  being  canonized 
on  the  altars  of  his  Church.  I  have  read  with  patience 
the  sixteen  heavy  articles  published  on  this  subject  by  the 
journal  "  II  Raffaello  "  in  1879,-  but  I  cannot  say  they  lift 

1  Compare  Archivio  Storico  dell'  Arte,  vol.  i,  a.  1888,  p.  3. 

2  "II  Raffaello,"  Rivista  d'  Arte,  published  at  Urbiuo  by  Elpidio  Righi. 


•_':;(»  j;Arn.\i:L 

\\\  oiu-  iiicli  tilt'  \t'il  wliicli  (lailit'us  this  side  of  the  muster's 
lite.  'I'o  tlic  t'onnal  cliai-<;vs  l)n)Ui>lit  forward  l>y  Giorgio 
N'asari,  Siinoiic  Foinaii  da  lu'i;'^i<»j  and  Missirini,  the  apolo- 
•;ist  of  tlie  *'  Kall'aelh)"  opposes  the  evideiiee  of  Mario  Fabio, 
Ctdio  ('aleaiiiiini.  Marcaiitoiiio  Michiel,  Fulvio  and  Paolo 
(iiovio.  not  to  niciitioii  more  recent  writers  who  have  like- 
wise exi>ressed  opposite  \  iews  on  the  morality  of  his  life  in 
•general,  and  on  the  cause  of  his  death  in  particular. 

The  im[)ression  left  on  the  impartial  reader  by  these  con- 
Hictinj;-  statements  is  that  Raphael  was  a  youth  exceedingly 
shv  in  the  presence  of  the  fairer  sex,  and  the  readier,  there- 
fore, to  give  his  whole  soul  to  the  one  who  would  lielj) 
him  overcome  his  timidity,  and  to  feel  the  fascination  of 
her  charms.  ]5etween  the  conventional,  frigid,  measured 
love  of  Maria  Hibbiena  and  the  simple,  straightforward 
passion  of  the  Fornarina.  he  chose  the  one  that  was  more 
c(»nsonant  with  his  own  nature;  and  without  openly  break- 
iuii-  the  faith  oiven  to  Maria  in  Julv,  lol4,  he  delaved  the 
fulHlment  of  his  pledge  from  month  to  month,  from  year 
to  year,  until  it  was  too  late  to  make  matters  right. 

There  is  no  doubt  that  Maria  died  of  a  broken  heart  and 
of  wounded  pride  at  having  the  date  of  her  marriage  thus 
indefinitely  postponed,  and  a  low-born  girl,  a  baker's  daugh- 
ter, preferred  to  herself,  the  niece  of  the  powerful  cardinal 
Bernardo  Divizi  and  a  cherished  friend  of  the  Pope.  Her 
pergonal  attractions,  besides,  were  considerable,  if  we  may 
trust  the  evidence  of  Comolli,  who  calls  her  a  "  bella  et 
(liirnitosa  fanciulla."  The  cardinal,  it  seems,  had  s'oaded 
Uajihael  into  asking  her  to  be  his  wife  (the  expression  used 
by  Vasari  is  that  he  had  harassed  the  artist  with  his  scheme 
of  marriage  for  a  number  of  years)  until  he  could  refuse 
no  longer  without  compromising  his  artistic  career.^    The 

'   It  is  |)r()b;iblc,  if  not  certain,  that  Raphael  owed  to  the  influence  of  Car- 


RAPHAEL  231 

betrothal  took  place  about  the  first  day  of  July,  1514 ;  at 
least  this  is  the  date  of  the  letter  in  which  he  announces 
to  Simone  Battista  Ciarla  his  formal  eno;ao-ement :  but, 
having  already  pledged  himself,  soul  and  body,  to  his  fair 
model,  whom  he  had  raised  to  the  glory  of  the  altars  in 
so  many  masterpieces,  he  found  a  way  of  postponing  the 
final  issue,  until  the  death  of  Maria  made  him  a  free  but 
not  a  happy  man.  The  wording  of  the  epitaph  of  the  un- 
fortunate girl  —  buried  in  the  Pantheon  almost  side  by  side 
with  Raphael  —  is  such  as  to  make  us  feel  that  the  survivor 
must  have  repented  of  his  conduct ;  it  being,  however,  too 
late  to  mend  the  wrong  he  had  done,  he  made  a  public 
avowal  of  his  guilt.  The  inscription,  freely  translated,  says  : 
"  We,  Baldassare  Turini  da  Pescia  and  Gianbattista  Bran- 
coni  dair  Aqiiila,  testamentary  executors  and  recipients  of 
the  last  wishes  of  Raphael,  have  raised  this  memorial  to 
his  affianced  wife,  Maria,  daughter  of  Antonio  of  Bibbiena, 
whom  death  deprived  of  a  happy  marriage,"  etc. 

As  regards  the  second  and  truest  love  of  Raphael,  the 
accounts  given  by  his  early  biographers  rest  more  on  tra- 
dition than  on  facts.    We  only  know  the  girl  to  have  been 

clinal  Bibbiena  his  conunission  for  the  cartoons  of  the  tapestries.  A  MS. 
volume  in  Prince  Cliigi's  library,  marked  H,  li,  22,  containing  notes  on  the 
reconstruction  of  St.  Peter's,  collected  by  order  of  Pope  Alexander  VII,  shows 
the  following  entry  under  the  date  June  15, 1515  :  "  The  reverenda  Fabbrica 
di  San  Pietro  to  pay  300  ducats  by  order  of  Bernardo  Bibbiena,  cardinal  of 
Santa  Maria  in  Portico,  to  Raffaele  da  Urbino,  on  account  of  the  Cartoons  for 
the  Tapestries,  which  are  to  be  forwarded  to  Flanders."  Another  sum  of  IS-l 
ducats  is  registered  on  December  20,  151(5,  to  the  same  purpose.  The  drawing 
of  the  cartoons  must  have  required  at  least  nineteen  months  of  work,  and  yet 
the  artist  received  onh'  434  ducats  in  remuneration.  As  regards  the  tajiestries 
themselves,  Vasari  and  Baldinucci  pretend  to  establish  their  cost  at  seventy 
thousand  scudi  ;  the  author  of  the  Vita  di  Raffaele  at  sixty  ;  Cardinal  Pallavi- 
cino  at  fifty:  all  quite  wide  of  the  truth,  because  Paride  de'  Grassi,  tiie  Pope's 
diarist,  on  the  first  day  they  were  exhibited  in  the  Sixtine  chapel,  entered  their 
cost  at  two  thousand  scudi  each. 


2'\'2  UAI'IIAKL 

of  humlilr  l)irtli,  most  likely  tlie  daughter  of  a  ])aker  livin*^ 
in  tlu'  Trasteverc,  somewhere  between  the  churches  of 
Santa  Dorotea  ami  Santa  Cecilia.  Attached  to  her  dwell- 
ing- was  a  small  Kitchcn-^anlcn.  enclosed  by  a  wall  so  low 
tiiat  anv  jiasscr-hv  could  catcii  a  g'limpse  of  the  inside  hy 
raisino-  himself  sliohtly  on  tiptoe.  Here  the  baker's  daiioh- 
ter  often  came.  perha])s  in  search  of  herbs  and  flowers,  per- 
haps to  s])read  the  household  linen  in  the  sun;  and  here, 
on  tlu'  other  side  of  the  wall,  many  young  artists,  attracted 
by  the  fame  of  her  beauty,  would  halt  on  their  way  home 
and  endeavor  to  obtain  speech  with  her. 

It  now  seems  certain  that  the  Fornarina's  name  w^as 
Margherita  ;  yet  the  identification  rests  on  the  authority  of 
one  document  only,  viz.,  of  a  copy  of  the  Giunta  edition  of 
Vasari  of  l.")()8,  formerly  owned  by  Giuseppe  Vannutelli 
and  now  in  Florence,  the  marginal  notes  of  which  were 
probably  written  by  one  who  had  known  Raphael  in  his 
lifetime.  This  anonymous  commentator  has  written  the 
name  twice  in  connection  with  Vasari's  passage  :  "  Marcan- 
tonio  [Kaimondi]  made  a  number  of  prints  for  Raphael, 
which  the  latter  gave  to  his  assistant  Baviera,  in  consider- 
ation of  the  services  rendered  by  him  to  the  young  woman 
whom  Raj)hael  loved  up  to  the  hour  of  his  death,  and 
whose  lifelike  portrait  he  had  painted  (die  pareva  viva 
viva)."  On  the  margin  of  the  leaf  the  anonymous  scholiast 
wrote,  first :  — 

"  Servitore  di  Raffaello  chiamato  il  Baviera"  (Raphael's 
servant,  named  il  Baviera) ;  and  again, 

"  Ritratto  di  Margherita  donna  di  Raffaello  "  (portrait 
of  Margherita,  the  love  of  Raphael). 

Shall  we  accept  the  name  as  genuine,  or  shall  we  repeat 
with  the  poet  Aleardi  :  — 


BAPHAEL  233 

"  il  vero 
Tuo  nome  il  nioudo  non  eoiiobbe  niai  : 
e  io  pur  1'  igiioro  povero  poeta. 
Pensa  per5  che  in  fra  le  genti  noto 
Suona  il  nome  gentil  di  Fornarina, 
pill  clie  quello  di  molte  iniperatrici." 

Roman  tradition  points  out  as  the  home  of  the  girl  a 
modest  house  near  the  corner  of  the  Via  di  Santa  Dorotea 


r:^"yL.y:^^Cz^^ 


The  window  of  the  so-called  house  of  the  Fornarina,  by  the 
church  of  Santa  Dorotea 


and  the  Porta  Settimiana,  the  ground  floor  of  which  is 
actually  occupied  by  a  bakery  called  '"  il  Forno  della  For- 
narina;" but  this  is  all  the  evidence  we  can  produce  in 
favor  of  the  tradition.  No  document  has  yet  been  found  to 
prove  the  veracity  of  the  charming  legend,  and  the  Santa 


2:U  i:m'Iim:l 

Dorotca  liousc.  lidwcNcr  dear  it  may  have  hccome  to  artists 
anil  poets,  lias  no  claim  whatever  to  the  eoiisideration  of 
tlie  conseieiitious  hio^raplu'r.  Tlic  aicliives  of  the  Peretti 
familv,  to  wliom  tliis  and  tlic  adjoining-  lands  helong-ed  at 
thr  t'nd  td'  the  sixteenth  ccntuiT,  contain  no  mention  of 
her  name.  'I'hev  show,  in  fact,  tliat  the  wliole  space  between 
thecduirrh  and  tlie  villa  of  Agostino  Chigi  (La  Farnesina) 
was  hut  a  stretch  of  vegetahle  gardens. 

Two  other  houses  are  pointed  out  by  tradition  as  having 
l)e;'n  iidial»ited  hv  the  young  woman.  One  stands  among 
low  surroundings  in  the  Yicolo  del  Merangolo,^  near  the 
church  of  Sant'  Egidio  in  Trastevere;  the  other  one  is 
the  Palazzetto  8assi  in  the  region  of  Parione,  of  which  I 
have  given  a  description  and  an  illustration  in  chapter  iii 
(p.  P2()).  The  house  in  the  Vicolo  del  Merangolo  mayor 
mav  not  have  been  erected  by  the  master  to  keep  his  be- 
loved one  near  him.  while  engaged  in  painting  the  h)ggia 
of  Chigi's  villa  ;  but  the  impious  hand  of  an  eighteenth 
century  restorer  has  obliterated  every  vestige  of  its  former 
aspect,  so  that  we  must  leave  the  question  unsolved. 

As  regards  the  Sassi  palace,  in  the  Via  del  Governo  Vec- 
chio,  n,  48,  it  would  be  vain  for  us  to  attempt  any  iden- 
tification of  its  various  parts,  as  described  in  the  sixteenth 
century  documents,  because  it  has  likewise  undergone  a 
transformation  at  the  hands  of  the  architect  Mercandetti. 
The  beautiful  court  and  loggia,  re})resented  on  page  127, 
have  been  demolished;  their  statues,  first  removed  to  the 
Farnese  palace,  are  now  in  Na])les  ;  and  I  have  not  been  able 
to  discover  what  fate  has  befallen  the  mosaic  of  the  floor 
of  the  court,  wliicli  lepresented  a  "well-stocked  fish-pond. 

On  the  left  side  of  the  vestibule  of  this  palace  a  mod- 
ern reproduction  of  a  much  older  tablet  is  set  into  the  wall, 

'  Now  called  Vicolo  del  Cedro. 


RAPHAEL  235 

on  which  these  words  are  engraved  :  "  Tradition  says  that 
the  one  who  became  so  dear  to  Raphael,  and  whom  he  raised 
to  fame,  Hved  in  this  house." 

RAPHAELI  ■  SANCTIO 
QVAE  •  CLARVIT  •  DILECTA 
HIC  •  FERTVR  •  INCOLVISSE 

The  tradition  is  not  absohitely  groundless.  We  can  pro- 
duce in  its  support  the  evidence  of  the  census  taken  by 
order  of  Leo  X  in  1518,  in  which  one  of  the  houses  per- 
taining to  the  head  of  the  Sassi  family,  Messer  Benedetto, 
is  said  to  be  occupied  by  a  baker  from  Siena  named  Fran- 
cesco. This  house,  facing  the  Via  di  Parione,  was  separated 
from  the  palace  by  a  narrow  space,  so  that,  if  Francesco 
was  the  father  of  the  Fornarina,  the  tablet  practically  would 
speak  the  truth,  the  more  so  if  we  assume  it  to  have  been 
removed  to  its  present  location  when  the  house  of  the  baker 
was  made  a  part  of  the  new  building. 

These,  then,  are  the  abodes  which  tradition  assigns  to 
the  Fornarina,  as  if  the  fair  inspirer  had  followed  Raphael 
in  his  artistic  rounds,  changing  residence  so  as  to  be  near 
the  places  in  which,  during  the  nine  years  of  their  liaison, 
the  artist  lavished  the  treasures  of  his  genius.  In  1511  he 
Avas  working  in  Agostino  Chigi's  villa,  and  the  legend  shows 
us  the  beautiful  model  living  in  the  Via  di  Santa  Dorotea ; 
again,  he  undertakes  the  painting  of  the  Transfiguration  in 
the  palace  now  marked  n.  3  in  the  Piazza  di  Sant'  Apol- 
lonia,  and  the  girl  is  found  to  be  living  in  the  Vicolo  del 
Merangolo  close  by  ;  lastly,  he  begins  the  Stanze  and  the 
Loggie,  and  the  model  watches  his  coming  and  going  on 
the  Via  Papale  —  the  Pope's  highway  — from  the  windows 
of  the  Sassi  house.  During  these  nine  years  Raphael  repaid 
the  loA^e  of  Margherita  Avith  immortality.    He  reproduced 


'j:?!')  i:m'Iiai:i. 

lu*r  likeness  in  the  fresco  of  Heliodoins,  in  the  Madonna 
(11  San  Sisto,  in  the  TiansHj^nration,  in  the  Parnassns  under 
the  attributes  of  Clio.  Vasari  says'  that  he  also  painted 
several  j)()rtraits  of  her,  (►f  which  three  are  alleged  to  be 
existini^-:  one  in  the  Tftizi,  one  in  the  Barberini,  the  last 
in  the  I'itti  L;;iller\.  The  Barberini  portrait  shows  a  type  of 
courtesan  so  vulgar  that  many  critics  deny  it  to  be  the  work 
of  the  master  ;  vet  we  have  in  favor  of  its  authenticity  the 
words  of  Alexander  VII,  who  in  his  "Commentaries"  says 
that  the  onlv  genuine,  bnt  otherwise  indifferent,  portrait 
(»f  the  iiK  /•(  /rlc/'f</  was  the  one  which,  from  the  house  of 
the  Santatiora,  had  passed  into  that  of  the  Boncompagni, 
and  which  bore  the  name  Raphael  vrbixas  written  in 
ffold  letters  on  the  band  encirclino-  the  left  arm  of  the 
g"irl.  The  picture  became  the  property  of  the  Barberini 
at  the  time  of  Cardinal  Francesco  the  elder,  about  1642. 
We  doubt  whether  it  represents  the  Fornarina,  and  we  are 
sure  —  notwithstanding  the  praises  bestowed  upon  it  by 
Gruyer  and  Miintz  —  that  it  is  not  the  work  of  Raphael,  but 
of  one  of  his  pupils  or  imitators.  It  is  enough  to  cite  the 
evidence  of  the  bracelet,  with  the  signature  of  the  artist,  a 
vulgarity  of  which  he  was  never  guiltv  ;  in  fact  that  bracelet 
can  safely  be  j)roclaimed  a  later  addition,  considering  that 
it  shows  no  j)ressure  or  relief  on  the  flesh  of  the  arm. 

The  painter  of  the  Barberini  picture,  whoever  he  was,  has 
left  a  rejdica  of  it  in  the  Villa  Lante  on  the  Janiculum. 
This  charming  suburban  retreat"  was  built  by  Giulio  Romano 

'  (.'onipare  Vasari,  Lives,  vol.  viii.  p.  ,'i(),  note  1,  ed.  Milanesi;  Qiiatreniere,  Vie, 
j.p.  118,  190- 192,  ;wr>-;«)3,  4;}0;  Faiabiilini,  Sagrjl  ,li  nuovi  studii  su  Raffaele,  p. 
liS'J  ;  Qiiandt,  Notizie  intornoal  ritratto  origitiale  della  Fornarina,  Florence,  vol.  i, 
p.  207;  Costa,  L'ultima  decade  di  Raffaello  in  Roma,  Montecassino,  1876,  p.  82. 
'  The  ridge  of  the  Janiculum  between  the  churches  of  San  Pietro  in  Mon- 
torio  and  Sant'  Ouofrio  had  not  then  been  enclosed  within  the  line  of  the 
modern  fortifications. 


THE    DONNA   VELATA    IN   THE    PITTI    GALLERY 

Considered  to  be  the  best  existing  portrait  of  the  Fornarina 


RAPHAEL  239 

ill  1524  for  Baklassare  Turini  da  Pescia,  whom  I  have 
mentioned  above  as  one  of  the  executors  of  the  will  of 
Raphael.  The  frescoes  of  the  walls,  not  injured  by  damp  or 
neo'lect,  were  removed  some  time  ago  to  the  Borohese  sfal- 
lerj,  so  that  there  are  only  the  ceilings  left  to  bear  testi- 
mony to  the'  original  decoration.  One  of  these  contains  four 
medallions,  interwoven  with  arabesques,  representing  Dante, 
Petrarch,  Poliziano,  and  Raphael ;  the  medallions  of  the  other 
show  four  nameless  female  portraits,  one  of  which  is  un- 
doubtedly a  replica  of  the  Barberini  Fornarina.  And  as 
these  decorations  were  executed  between  1530  and  1540  by 
the  pupils  or  "garzoni"  of  Giulio  Romano,  we  are  induced 
to  attribute  to  one  of  them  the  authorship  of  the  Barberini 
likeness. 

If  we  turn  our  attention  from  it  to  the  "Donna  Velata" 
of  the  Pitti  gallery,  how  naturally  the  feeling  comes  that 
we  are  at  last  before  the  real  object  of  Raphael's  love. 
The  beauty  of  the  woman  is  great,  but  it  is  not  the  beauty 
of  a  courtesan,  and  reminds  us  at  the  first  glance  of  the 
type  glorified  in  the  Madonna  di  San  Sisto.  Her  style  of 
dress  becomes  a  daughter  of  the  people  raised  to  a  higher 
and  more  refined  state,  of  the  class  which  we  now  call 
minentl.  The  generous  instincts  of  Raphael,  revealed  in  so 
many  incidents  of  his  life,  must  have  prompted  him  to  sat- 
isfy the  natural  ambition  of  a  fair  woman, — that  of  appear- 
ing becomingly  dressed.  Hence  we  see  the  "Donna  Velata  " 
wearing  a  rich  gown  over  a  shirt  of  fine  white  linen,  a 
necklace  made  of  a  set  of  oval  medallions,  and  a  pendant 
fastened  to  her  brown  hair,  all,  however,  in  chaste  style, 
and  totally  unlike  a  parvenu  in  Sunday  attire. 

I  mention  in  the  last  place  the  alleged  portrait  of  the 
Uffizi,  reproduced  in  the  illustration  on  page  211,  simply 
to  state  that  it  is  now  acknowledged  to  be  the  work  of  Se- 


'J40  h'APITAEL 

bastiaiio  tltl  Pioiiilx),  and  to  represent  a  courtesan,  perhaps 
Heatrii'i'  da  Ferrara,  of  a  type  entirely  different  from  tlie 
one  enilxidicd  in  the  Madonna  di  San  Sisto. 

And  now  a  final  (|nestion.  Did  Ra])liael  love  the  For- 
narina  witli  a  lo\c  ready  to  overcome  all  obstacles,  and  to 
face  adversity  and  sorrow  for  her  sake?  1  am  afraid  ^ve 
must  answer  in  the  nenatiye.  When  Ao-ostino  Chig'i,  wearied 
of  the  dilatory  hahits  of  the  painter  of  the  •'story  of  Cupid 
and  Psyche,"  caused  the  Fornarina,  the  suspected  origin  of 
his  idleness,  to  be  spirited  away,  Raphael  did  not  show  much 
concern,  and  remained  as  good  a  friend  of  the  banker  as 
ever. 

Again,  Raphael  is  lying  on  his  deathbed,  and  the  For- 
narina is  kneeling  by  his  side,  sobbing  in  bitter  despair.  A 
messenger  from  the  Pope  is  announced,  bringing  to  the 
dying  man  the  benediction  "in  articulo  mortis,"  but  he 
declines  to  enter  the  room  and  fulfil  his  mission  unless  the 
one  who  represents  an  illicit  liaison  is  driven  away  from 
the  house.  Raphael  allows  the  stricken  woman  to  be  torn 
from  his  side,  depriving  her  of  the  privilege  of  hearing  his 
last  words,  a  privilege  Avhich  nine  years  of  devoted  love  had 
given  her  the  right  of  claiming.  If  the  artist  had  really 
loved  the  beautiful  model,  Avliat  consideration  would  have 
prevented  his  making  Margherita  his  lawful  wife  at  the 
moment  of  death  ?  Was  he  afraid,  or  did  he  have  no  desire 
to  perform  an  act  of  justice  towards  one  who  had  jilayed 
such  an  active  j)art  in  making  his  name  immortal  ?  The 
reason  is  that  the  exhortations  of  the  attending  priests 
made  him  repent  of  the  irregularities  of  his  past  life,  and 
compensate,  as  far  as  possible,  the  wrong  done  to  Maria 
Bibbiena,  by  acknowledging  her  most  solemnly  to  have 
been  his  affianced  wife.  This  was  done,  as  we  have  already 
seen,   by  his  testamentary   executors,  the  acknowledgment 


THE   ALLEGED    PORTRAIT   OF  THE    FORNARINA  BY 

SEBASTIANO    DEL    PIOMBO 

Now  in  the  Uffizi 


RAPHAEL  243 

being  engraved  on  a  marble  slab  and  placed  on  the  grave  of 
Maria.  As  regards  the  Fornarina,  Raphael  willed  that  ''  all' 
amata  sua  si  desse  modo  di  poter  vivere  onestamente,"  that 
to  his  dear  companion  of  nine  years  should  be  given 
enough  to  live  honestly  and  comfortably. 

The  subsequent  fate  of  Margherita  was  a  matter  of  con- 
jecture until  1897,  when  certain  fortunate  inquiries  made 
by  the  late  Antonio  Valeri  put  us  in  the  way  of  discovering 
the  truth. 1  After  the  heart-rending  scene  in  the  Piazza  del 
Pantheon,  when,  beside  herself  with  grief,  she  was  driven 
away  by  the  mourners,  the  girl  fell  into  a  kind  of  leth- 
argy and  a  melancholy  mood,  from  which  she  was  roused 
only  by  the  determination  to  enter  a  monastery  and  lead  for 
the  rest  of  her  days  the  life  of  a  recluse.  This  resolve  was 
carried  into  execution,  wdth  the  help  of  Cardinal  Bibbiena, 
and  the  sorrowing  woman  was  received  into  the  congregation 
of  Sant'  ApoUonia,  near  the  church  of  Santi  Margherita  ed 
Emidio  in  Trastevere. 

The  congregation  or  "  conservatory  "  of  Sant'  Apollonia, 
wdiicli  has  long  since  ceased  to  exist,  was  one  of  those  houses 
instituted  in  Rome  by  the  score,  towards  the  end  of  the 
fifteenth  century,  as  homes  of  refuge  for  fallen  or  repent- 
ing women  whom  society  had  expelled  from  its  pale.  This 
one,  called  Cnsa  santa  d'l  Pnolo'iza^  because  it  had  been 
founded  by  Paola  de'  Pierleoni  in  the  time  of  Nicholas  V, 
was  noted  for  the  strictness  of  its  rules.  The  Fornarina, 
although  artistically  sacred,  was  morally  no  longer  fit  to 
live  among  her  relatives ;  and  so  on  the  eighteenth  day  of 
August  in  the  year  1520,  four  and  a  half  months  after 
the  death  of   Raphael,  she  stepped  over  the  threshold  of 

'  Antonio  Valeri,  "  Chi  era  la  Fornarina  "  in  Vita  Italiana,  a.  18{>7,  xvii. 
Compare  Archivio  storico  delV  Arte,  vol.  iv,  p.  445;  Alfred  von  Reumont,  "  Nota 
snl  ritratto  della  Fornarina  "  m  Archivio  societh  romana  di  Storia  patria,  vol. 
iii,  a.  1880,  p.  233;  Griiyer,  Les  portraits  de  In  Fornnrina,  Paris,  1877. 


LM  I  nAPIIAKL 

a  litVtiiue  prison.  This  iiuportaiit  fact  was  discovered  by 
Valcri  in  a  slicct  torn  from  tlic  ledger  of  the  Institute, 
wliicli  contains  tlic  names  of  the  postuhints  to  wliom  ad- 
mission was  orantiMl  under  tlie  pontificate  of  Leo  X,  viz., 
iM'twccn  \7)V.\  and  \~>'1A.  On  the  eleventli  line  of  this  frair- 
mcntarv  document  tlic  t'ollowini;'  entry  is  to  be  found:  — 

'•  a  (li  IS  A  iiyusti  luJO 

Hoggi  e  stuta  rrcenla  nel  nru  Conserva 

torio  ma".  Margarita  vedoa,  figliola  del 

ij\ioH<lain  Frunceacho  Luti  da  Siena  " 
(To-day,  Aiijjiist  18,  l.")2(>,  Mar<i;arita,  daughter  of  the  late  Francesco  Luti  da 
Siena,  a  widow,  was  received  into  our  institution.) 

In  readini;-  tliese  lines  we  cannot  help  remembering,  first, 
that  a  Ijaker  from  Siena,  named  Francesco,  lived  in  a  house 
in  the  Via  di  Parione,  which,  according-  to  the  tablet  referred 
to  above,  was  also  the  home  of  the  Fornarina  ;  secondly, 
tliat  the  Fornarina's  name  was  Margherita.  The  case  is 
one  of  circumstantial  evidence ;  still,  comparing  these  facts 
with  the  entry  in  the  ledger  of  Sant'  Apollonia,  it  seems  to 
me  evident  that  the  name  of  Raphael's  mistress  was  Mar- 
gherita Luzzi.  As  regards  the  appellative  of  "  Avidow,"  it 
becomes  a  woman  who  for  so  many  years  had  been  the 
loving  and  faithful  companion  of  the  master,  wdiose  mortal 
remains  had  just  been  laid  to  rest  under  the  mighty  dome 
of  the  Pantheon.' 

When  the  news  of  his  death  became  known  the  learned 

'  The  verses  \)  and  lU  of  the  epitaph  over  his  grave 

VIX  •  ANN'OS  •  XXXVII  •  INTEGER  •  INTEGROS 
QVO  •   DIE  ■  NATVS  •  EST   •  EO  •  ESSE  •   DESIIT 

("He  lived  thirty-seven  full  years  [there  is  a  play  on  words  that  I  cannot 
render  into  Knglish]  and  died  on  the  same  day  he  was  born  ")  must  be  inter- 
preted in  the  sense  that  he  came  into  the  world  and  left  it  on  the  same  calen- 
dar day  of  the  church,  namely,  on  Holy  P>iday,  which  in  148.3  fell  on  the  28th 
of  March,  and  in  1.j20  on  the  Gth  of  April. 


RAPHAEL  245 

men  of  the  age,  both  at  home  and  abroad,  mourned  over  the 
loss  of  an  archaeologist  of  great  promise,  more  than  over 
that  of  the  prince  of  painters  :  an  expression  of  feeling 
which,  however  strange  it  may  appear,  can  be  explained  on 
the  ground  that  as  a  painter  he  was  above  praise,  while  as 
an  archaeolosfist  he  was  a  fresh  and  startlino-  revelation. 
With  all  the  vigor  and  passion  of  youth  he  had  turned 
his  studies  towards  the  monuments  of  the  past ;  and  under 
the  powers  granted  to  him  by  Leo  X  he  had  taken  up  the 
task  of  saving  those  monuments  from  further  desecration, 
and  of  reconstructing  at  the  same  time  the  plan  of  ancient 
Rome. 

Marcantonio  Michiel,  in  a  fragment  of  a  letter  inserted  in 
the  "Diaries"  of  Marin  Sanudo,  says  that  the  master  had 
come  to  a  premature  end  "  amidst  the  universal  regrets  of 
learned  men,  for  whom  he  was  preparing  a  voliuiie,  like  the 
Cosmography  of  Ptolemy,  on  the  edifices  and  ruins  of 
Rome,  in  which  their  style,  aspect,  and  decorations  were  so 
justly  portrayed  that  one  felt  as  if  one  were  living  again 
in  the  golden  days  of  the  empire.  Unfortunately,  only  one 
out  of  the  fourteen  resfions  of  Aug-ustus  had  been  described 
completely  when  death  interrupted  the  work."  Another 
letter,  addressed  on  June  29,  1532,  to  the  duke  of  Mantua 
by  Fabrizio  Peregrine,  his  agent  in  Rome,  says :  "  In  a 
few  days  will  be  published  a  plan  of  Rome,  designed  by 
Raphael,  a  beautiful  and  exhaustive  work."  The  event  was 
celelSrated  also  by  poets  like  Castiglione  and  Germanico, 
and  by  historians  like  Paolo  Giovio,  Celio  Calcagnini,  and 
Andrea  Fulvio.^ 

In  all  these  accounts,  praises,  and  regrets  there  is  a  de- 
cided  exaggeration.    Ignorant   as    he    was    of    classic    lan- 

1  Compare  Rodolfo   Laiiciani,  La  pianta  di  Roma  antica  e  i  disegni  archeo- 
logici  di  Raffaello  Sanzio,  Rome,  Lincei,  1895. 


LMC.  nM-llAKL 

«'ua"-('s.  ^o  that  \\v  could  not  read  Vitnivius  without  the 
lu'l|t  ol"  his  i;u«'st  Fal)io  C'alvo,  llapliael  cannot  he  called  an 
archa-olouist,  aiul  the  alleged  plan  of  Rome,  with  tlie  autlior- 
.ship  (»t'  which  he  has  heen  credited,  is  hut  a  [xtor  production 
ill  (  (iiiipari^on  witii  others  puhlished  in  the  first  half  of  the 
sixteenth  century.  The  following  considerations  may  help 
the  reader  to  understand  the  error  of  judgnient  committed 
bv  Michiel,  Peregrino,  and  others  in  speaking  of  the  dead 
man  as  an  arclueologist. 

l\aj)hael  had  heen  brought  in  contact  with  the  produc- 
tions of  Greeo-Homau  art,  not  only  by  his  love  for  the 
beautiful,  but  by  duty  as  well,  having  been  appointed  suc- 
cessor to  Fra  Giocondo  da  Verona  in  the  superintendency 
of  anti(iuities  ( Commissariato  delle  Antichita)  on  August 
l27.  1.")].").  Tn  the  brief  of  nomination  Leo  X  insists  espe- 
cially on  the  imi)ortance  of  putting  an  end  to  the  practice 
of  burning-  into  lime  statues,  inscri})ti()ns,  and  architectural 
marbles;  but  the  evil  was  too  deeply  rooted  in  Rome  to 
be  con(piered  by  the  efforts  of  a  single  man,  especially  as 
he  had  to  contend,  first  of  all,  with  the  Pope's  treasury, 
which,  bv  levving  a  percentage  on  the  product  of  lime- 
kilns, made  itself  an  accomplice  in  the  continuation  of  the 
sliameful  })ractice.  I  have  published  in  the  first  volume  of 
the  "  Storia  degli  scavi  e  de'  musei  di  Roma"  the  text  of 
an  agreement,  dated  July  1,  1426,  by  which  the  Apostolic 
Chand)er  authorizes  certain  Roman  citizens  to  destroy  the 
remains  of  the  Basilica  Julia,  with  the  condition  that  half 
the  produce  of  the  kiln  should  be  given,  in  the  name  of  the 
(Jhandx-r,  to  Cardinal  Giacomo  Isolani  for  his  private  use. 
1  have  mentioned  this  particular  espisode  in  a  long  tale  of 
disaster,  because  the  kiln  of  1426  was  rediscovered  in  my 
])resence  on  September  10,  1871,  in  the  middle  nave  of 
the  basilica,  filled  with  half-charred   marble  carvings.    The 


BAPHAEL  247 

rest  of  the  nave  was  occupied  by  a  layer,  two  or  three  feet 
deep,  of  fragments  of  statues,  inscriptions,  cornices,  capi- 
tals, columns,  and  pedestals,  ready  to  be  turned  into  lime. 
Fra  Giocondo  da  Verona  says  that  many  noblemen  prided 
themselves  on  having  had  the  foundations  of  their  jjalaces 
built  of  pieces  of  ancient  statuary. 

In  the  fulfilment  of  his  task  the  young  commissario 
allowed  himself  occasionally  to  overstep  the  limits  of  his 
powers.  He  seems  to  have  made  himself  particularly  obnox- 
ious to  a  Gabriele  de  Rossi,  who  had  just  brought  to  a  close 
certain  successful  excavations  in  the  "  Domus  Severiana  " 
on  the  Palatine,  and  in  the  Lamian  gardens  on  the  Esqui- 
line.  We  do  not  know  the  cause  of  the  controversy,  which 
dates  from  the  year  1517:  the  fact  is  that  in  a  will  signed 
in  the  same  year,  De  Rossi  inserted  a  proviso  that,  in  case 
after  his  death  some  high  official  [allquis  superior)  should 
attempt  to  rob  his  heirs  of  the  collection  of  antiques,  — their 
legitimate  property,  —  the  city  magistrates  were  authorized 
to  interfere  and  eventually  to  remove  the  statues  and  busts 
to  the  Palazzo  de'  Conserva.tori.  The  "  somebody  "  whose 
violence  was  feared  by  the  dying  collector  was  undoubtedly 
Raphael,  who  is  known  to  have  actually  taken  possession 
of  the  marbles  by  force  ;  but  Leo  X,  called  upon  by  the 
city  magistrates  to  protect  the  rights  of  the  testator  and 
eventually  of  the  city  itself,  gave  judgment  against  his  too 
energetic  commissario. 

However,  if  we  are  compelled  to  deny  to  him  the  title 
of  archaeologist,  we  must  acknowledge  that  the  scheme  he 
conceived,  three  or  four  years  before  his  death,  for  the  thor- 
ough illustration  of  the  antiquities  of  the  city,  gives  him  an 
additional  claim  to  glory  and  to  the  gratitude  of  men  of 
science.  In  fact,  the  scheme  was  so  perfect  that  it  is  prac- 
tically the  same  taken  up  again,  after  an  interval  of  three 


•J  IS  i:M'IIM':l 

and  a  lialf  cciituries,  hy  the  Berlin  Academy  of  Sciences, 
and  1)V  till'  Ariadtinia  icalc  dei  Lincei  of  Rome,  to  which 
\v('  owe  i('s|n'i'tivt'lv  tlu'  |»ul)lic'ation  of  the  "  Corpus  Inscrip- 
tionuni  Latinariiiu  '"  and  of  the  "  Forma  Urbis."  ' 

To  caiTV  his  dt'sii;ii  into  exccutidn,  Kajdiael,  who  was  not 
a  learntMJ  man  and  whose  time  was  absorbed  at  all  events 
by  other  duties,  secured  the  collaboration  of  the  three  best 
specialists  of  the  day.  .lacopo  Mazocchi  for  the  inscrip- 
tions, Andrea  Fulvio  for  the  toi)ogTaphy,  and  Fabio  Calvo 
f«>r  the  map  of  the  citv  ;  and  he  lost  no  time  in  obtaining' 
from  the  Pope  the  ])rivileg"e  for  each  of  the  three  to  publish 
his  own  section  of  the  *' Arclueologia  Urbis  "  within  a  stated 
period,  safe  from  competition  and  from  acts  of  piracy  or 
plagiarism.  The  brief  of  Leo  X  granting  Mazocchi  the 
copyright  of  the  "Epigrammata"  is  dated  November  30, 
b")17.  but  the  book  was  not  published  before  April,  1521. 
That  the  scheme  of  this  book  Avas  inspired  by  Raphael  — 
although  he  could  not  decipher  its  contents  —  is  proved 
by  the  fact  that  the  inscriptions  are  not  grouped  in  it  by 
subjects  (sacred,  imperial,  military,  naval,  domestic,  etc.), 
as  is  the  case  with  the  Berlin  Corpus,  but  topographically, 
that  is  to  say,  according  to  the  site  and  quarter  of  the  city 
where  they  had  been  found,  or  where  they  Avere  located,  an 
arrangement  which  is  noticeable  also  in  the  companion 
works  by  Fulvio  and  Calvo. 

The  date  selected  for  the  publication  of  these  last  two  was 
the  fateful  year  of  the  sack,  ir)27.  We  all  know  that  the 
"  Anti(piitates"  of  Fulvio  did  really  appear  at  the  beginning 
of  that  year,  but  very  few  are  acquainted  with  the  strange 
\  icissitudes  of  Fabio  Calvo's  map,  the  issue  of  which  is  gen- 
erally assigned  to  l.")3'2.   I  have  myself  discovered  the  truth, 

'   Forma  Urhi.'i  Romae  :  consilio  et  auctoritate  regiae   Academiae  Lyncaeorum 
delineavit  lifMluljihus  Lanciaui  Itomamts.   Forty-six  sheets  with  a  copious  index. 


jd^^j^iv^    Sie   P'^hn,   eLj?, 


Lpa  U^O    I 


>vu 


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..-.-^-M^ 


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IodcHj}  i/vjA/  duipi^iziip 


A  LEAF  FROM  RAPHAEL'S  ARCHITECTURAL  SKETCH-BOOK 

Formerly  in  the  Burlington-Devonshire  collection,  and  now  in  the  keeping  of  the 
R.  1.  B.  A.,  Conduit  Street,  London.  The  facsimile  of  Raphael's  handwriting  in 
the  square  on  the  left  (the  words  are  "  the  gum  of  the  Pimis  cembra  is  good  against 
consumption  ")  is  taken  from  the  marginal  notes  to  Fabio  Calvo's  translation  of 
Vitruvius,  now  in  the  Munich  Library,  n.  216 


RAPHAEL  251 

as  it  were  by  accident.  While  perusing  one  clay  my  notes 
on  the  topography  of  Rome  of  the  first  half  of  the  sixteenth 
century,  I  was  astonished  to  find  one  labelled  as  follows : 
"  Piante  1527 :  M.  Fabius  Calvus.  Antiquae  Urbis  cum  regio- 
nibus  Simulachrum.  Anno  a  partu  Virginis  M.  DXXVII 
mense  aprili.  Ludovicus  Vicentinus  Romae  impressit :  quod 
opus  Ptolemaeo  Egnatio  forosemproniensi  ante  caelandum 
dederat.    (Biblioteca  Vitt.  Emm.  collez.  rom.  3.  G.  21.) " 

As  I  had  fresh  in  my  memory  the  words  of  Eugene  Miintz, 
the  learned  author  of  "  Raphael  Archeologue,"  "  En  retrou- 
vant  a  la  bibliotheque  de  I'Ecole  des  Beaux-arts  la  premiere 
edition  de  cet  ouvrage,  Rome,  1532,  in  folio,"  etc.,  I  went 
immediately  to  the  Biblioteca  Vittorio  Emmanuele  to  ascer- 
tain whether  I  had  made  a  mistake  in  transcribino-  the  title 
and  the  date.  This  was  not  the  case.  The  copy  in  the 
Vittorio  Emmanuele,  which  I  consider  unique,  is  really  dated 
a  few  days  before  the  sack.  The  story  of  its  existence  can 
be  reconstructed  in  the  followinsf  manner  :  — 

When  Raphael  began  to  feel  the  fascination  of  archi- 
tectural and  archaeological  studies,  he  called  to  his  side  an 
interpreter  of  Greek  and  Latin  texts,  who  could  reveal  to 
him  the  secrets  of  ancient  life  and  teach  him  the  precepts 
of  Vitruvius.  This  old  man  from  Ravenna,  who  lived  in 
seclusion  in  the  painter's  house,  repaid  his  kindness  with 
advice  on  questions  connected  with  his  "  Commissariato 
delle  Antichita"  and  with  his  scheme  for  the  description 
of  the  ancient  city.  Their  joint  work,  so  far  as  the  map 
is  concerned,  as  well  as  the  text  by  Fulvio,  was  ready  to 
appear  at  the  beginning  of  1.527.  The  text  was  actually 
published  in  February,  the  map  in  April.  On  the  6th  of 
May  Bourbon's  army  stormed  the  walls  of  the  Borgo,  and 
began  its  deeds  of  arson,  pillage,  and  massacre.  Even  the 
penniless  author  of  the  "  Simulachrum  "  was  not  spared  by 


'_*.")•_»  L'M'IIAF.L 

till'  fn'ii/.lcd  invaders,  itnd  he  was  left  to  die  of  his  wounds 
ill  a  wavside  liostolrv  (|)i()l)al)ly)  of  the  Via  Flaminia,  he- 
lauso  lie  eoiild  not  })ay  the  ransom.  In  this  great  disaster 
the  edition  of  the  map.  wliich  was  kept  for  sale  in  the  shop 
(it  Ludovico  Vieentino,  suifered  such  irreparable  damage 
tliat  tilt'  eopv  in  the  Vittorio  Emmanuele,  as  far  as  I  know, 
is  the  only  one  whicdi  escaped  destruction.  Such  being 
tlu'  case,  no  wonder  that  the  agent  of  Mantua,  Peregrino, 
should  have  announced  to  his  master  the  reprint  of  the 
''  Sinudachrum  "  of  1532  as  a  totally  new  work  inspired  by 
Kapliael. 

Fabio  Calvo  has  another  claim  to  consideration,  that  of 
having  been  one  of  the  tutors  of  the  young  prince  Federieo 
of  Mantua,  who  has  a})peared  in  every  chapter  of  this  book 
as  a  messenger  of  friendship  and  goodwill  between  its  lead- 
ing personages.  A  letter  of  Maddalena  Tagliapietra  informs 
his  mother  how  the  boy  had  secured  the  tuition  of  a  "  master 
Fabio  da  Ravenna,  a  man  already  advanced  in  years,  who 
never  tastes  wine,  and  eats  only  once  in  a  day,  very  learned 
in  Latin,  even  more  in  Greek,  and  who  is  engaged  at  present 
in  translating  from  Greek  into  Latin  a  work  on  medicine 
[Hi})i)Ocrates]  which  will  be  of  great  value  to  practitioners." 
The  love  and  admiration  for  the  ruins  and  for  the  works  of 
art  which  were  dailv  coming  to  light  in  the  excavations  of 
the  city  nuist  have  cemented  this  strange  friendship  between 
the  gray-haired,  gruff  old  stoic  and  the  bright  youth  from 
Mantua.  In  regard  to  the  Laocoiin  discovered  in  the  month 
of  June,  l.")0(),  in  the  Vigna  of  Felice  de  Fredis,  near  the 
Sette  Sale,  he  writes  to  Isabella,  "  How  I  wish  I  could  send 
you,  or  at  least  show  you.  this  group,  cosn  excellentissima 
rt  opra  (Vtvinny  There  is  no  doubt  about  the  veracity  of 
these  sentiments,  because  the  Laocoiin  appears  again  in  the 
chronicle  of  Federico's  residence  in  Rome  as  exercising  upon 


RAPHAEL  253 

him  a  real  fascination.  It  happened  in  this  way  :  Caradosso, 
the  rival  of  Benvenuto  Cellini,  had  won  the  good  graces  of 
the  prince  by  chiselling  a  medallion  for  his  master  Ippolito 
Tebaldeo,  and  refusing  any  compensation  for  the  work, 
althouoh  it  was  valued  at  one  hundred  ducats.  This  act 
of  kindness  made  Federico  anxious  to  secure  for  himself  a 
specimen  of  Caradosso's  art,  and  he  begged  leave  from  his 
mother  to  ask  the  goldsmith  for  a  reproduction  of  the 
group  of  the  Laocoon  "  of  solid  gold,  in  full  relief,  with  the 
children  and  the  snakes  not  cast  but  chiselled  ;  "  but  the 
marchesa,  alarmed  at  the  expense  which  such  a  work  would 
involve,  refused  her  consent.  A  second  request  of  the 
young  admirer  of  the  Laocoon  to  have  the  group  repro- 
duced by  Caradosso  in  a  plaquette  to  be  worn  on  his  hat 
had  no  better  success.  Tlie  idea  appears  rather  inconsistent 
with  the  good  taste  shown  by  Federico  in  other  details  of 
his  attire  —  a  Laocoon  on  a  hat !  But  he  may  have  been 
led  into  temptation  by  Ippolito  Tebaldeo,  who  wore  on  his 
own  toque  a  reproduction  of  the  group  of  Hercules  killing 
Cacus. 

All  the  learned  men  of  the  period  seem  to  have  sought 
the  honor  of  explaining  to  Federico  the  wonders  of  the 
ancient  and  the  modern  city.  The  company  he  preferred, 
however,  was  that  of  Bernardo  Accolti,  surnamed  the  "  unico 
Aretino,"  who  showed  him  the  Flavian  amphitheatre,  the 
Forum,  and  the  Capitol,  much  to  the  delight  of  Isabella, 
who  wrote,  "  Praise  to  you  for  the  interest  you  feel  in  an- 
tiquities, a  sure  token  of  gentleness  and  refinement  of  mind." 
This  "  pious  "  Bernardo  (brother  to  Pietro  Accolti,  cardinal 
of  Ancona,  and  next-door  neighbor  to  Raphael)  was  con- 
sidered as  great  a  man  in  the  field  of  poetry  as  Raphael 
himself  in  the  field  of  art.  In  fact,  no  literary  genius  of  the 
age,  which  counted  Ariosto  amongst  its  stars,  made  more 


•J.VI  i;ai'IIm:i. 

imju'essittn  on  Li'o  X  tiian  tlie  *' iiiiico  Aietiiio,"  who  was 
atliiallv  iiiatlc  diiUi'  of  Nepi.  It  is  said  that  whenever  he  felt 
bnikh-nlv  iiispirctl  l)y  tlie  <j;enial  muse,  and  ready  to  extem- 
|)ori/e,  tlif  Vu\n\  whose  gaiest  he  was  at  the  time,  would 
oiiln-  the  i;atfs  of  the  castle  of  Sant'  Angelo  to  be  thrown 
open  to  tlu'  peopk',  that  they  might  delight  in  hearing  tlie 
captivating  melodies  of  his  lyre.  Federico  saw  also  the 
transfer  of  the  statue  of  Apcdlo  to  the  garden  of  the  Bel- 
vedere,—  a  statue  which  had  been  discovered  by  Julius  II 
at  Grottaferrata  while  he  was  engaged  in  fortifying  the 
abbey,  —  and  of  the  so-called  Cleopatra,  which  the  same 
Pope  had  })urchased  from  the  Maffei ;  and  he  was  present 
at  the  finding  of  the  colossal  statue  of  the  Tiber,  which 
took  place  in  January,  1512,  in  the  foundations  of  a  house 
adjoining  the  monastery  of  la  Minerva. 

One  of  the  last  occurrences  in  Raphael's  personal  inter- 
course with  Federico  took  place  in  July,  1512,  on  the 
occasion  of  a  dinner  g'iven  at  the  Vatican  to  his  uncle, 
Alfonso  d'  Este.  The  duke,  having-  expressed  the  wish  to 
see  something  of  the  curiosities  of  the  place,  was  led  with 
his  attendants  to  the  Sixtine  chapel,  where  Michelangelo 
received  him  upon  the  highest  i)latform  of  the  scaffolding-, 
where  he  was  engaged  in  painting  those  terrible  figures  of 
prophets  and  sibyls,  and  while  the  two  were  deep  in  their 
conversation  Federico  took  the  rest  of  the  party  to  see  the 
"  stanze  che  dipinge  Kaffaello  da  Urbino,"  in  one  of  which, 
named  from  the  Scuola  d'  Atene,  he  himself  had  been  por- 
trayed by  the  artist. 

The  best  instance  of  Raphael's  power  to  assimilate  the 
spirit  of  classic  art  and  derive  inspiration  from  classic 
models  is  to  be  found  in  Marcantonio's  famous  enoravina: 
of  the  Judgment  of  Paris.'    This  prince  of  the  engravers  of 

'  Bartsch,  xiv.  n.  245  ;  Thode,  Die  antiken  in  den  Stichen  Marcantons,  p.  24  ; 


RAPHAEL 


255 


the  golden  age,  said  to  have  been  born  at  Bologna  in  1488, 
had  served  his  apprenticeship  under  Francesco  Francia. 
Vasari  says  that  while  wandering  one  day  in  the  Piazza 
di  San  Marco  at  Venice,  where  he  had  gone  to  perfect  his 


The  Judg-nient  of  Paris,  by  Marcantonio,  from  a  reprint  by  A.  .Salamanca 

studies  in  1508,  he  saw  a  Flemish  merchant  exhibit  cer- 
tain prints  of  Albrecht  Diirer.  The  sight  of  these  beautiful 
plates,  sold  at  high  prices,  suggested  to  him  the  idea  of 
imitating  some  of  the  most  popular,  forging  the  signature 
of  the  German  master,  in  which  scheme  he  succeeded  so 
well  that  no  one  who  was  not  an  expert  could  tell  which 
were  the  originals  and  which  were  Marcantonio's  imitations. 
Hence  a  lawsuit  brought  by  the  wronged  artist,  which 
ended  in  a  decree  restraining  the  forger  from  making- 
use  of  Diirer's  signature.    Vasari's  story  seems  to  have  no 

Grayer,  Raphael  et  Vantiquite,  il,  p.  99  ;  Pulszky,  Beitrage  zu  Raphaels  Studium 
der  Antike  ;  Goeler  v.  Ravensburg,  i?u6e?j5  und  die  Antike,  p.  142;  Loewy, 
Di  alcune  composizioni  di  Raffaello  ispirate  a  momimenti  antichi,  Rome,  1896. 


'J.")i;  IIM'JIAKL 

tniiiitl.itioii  ol"  triitli.  coiisidcilii';-  that  the  first  meeting'  of  the 
l\v(i  masters  had  ahvady  taken  idace  at  Bologna  in  15()G.' 

Having  conu-  to  Konu'  in  1~)1(),  Maicantonio  became  at 
oiicf  the  favorite  pupil  of  Raphael  and  the  engraver  of  his 
\v(.iks,  su»  h  as  the  Luerezia  Romana,  the  Slaughter  of  the 
Innocents,  the  .ludgment  of  Paris,  Venus  emerging  from 
the  Bath,  the  Five  Saints,  and  the  Saint  Cecilia.  The  fame 
of  his  success  called  to  Rome  several  competitors,  such  as 
Marco  Dente  da  Ravenna  and  Agostino  Musi  Veneziano, 
to  wiioiii  also  praise  is  due  for  popularizing  the  paintings 
and  drawings  of  Raphael.  1  will  not  touch  the  question 
of  the  extreme  licentiousness  of  some  of  these  plates,  nor  of 
the  greater  or  lesser  share  of  responsibility  which  rests  with 
the  desiiiiier  and  with  the  engravers.  The  blame  must  be 
cast  on  Giulio  Romano  rather  than  on  Raphael.  I  do  not 
think  the  controversy  mature  yet  for  a  solution. 

After  the  master's  death  Marcantonio  published  some 
designs  of  Giulio,  of  Baccio  Bandhielli,  and  of  other  artists, 
and  he  would  have  prospered  in  life  but  for  the  sack  of 
\~)'1~,  which  left  him  in  penury  and  distress,  so  that  he  died 
soon  after  his  escape  to  Bologna. 

To  come  back,  however,  to  the  Judgment  of  Paris,  there 
is  no  doubt  that  Ra})hael,  in  furnishing  the  drawing  for 
this  plate,  had  actually  before  his  eyes  the  bas-reliefs  of 
two  sarcophagi,  one  of  which  is  now  preserved  in  the  Villa 
Medici,  the  other  in  the  Villa  Pamphili.  I  do  not  know  where 
Ra})hael  may  have  sketched  them;  probably  in  the  vestibule 
of  a  mediicval  church  like  the  Aracteli,  or  in  the  court  of  a 
patrician  house  like  that  of  the  Capranica  della  Valle,  or  in 
the  sliow-room  of  a  dealer  like  that  of  Giovanni  Ciampolini 
in  the  Via  di  Balestrari.    The  fact  is  that  while  imparting  to 

1  Hciijaniin  Delessert,  Mfirrantnuio  Raimondi,  Paris,  ISG'J;  Charles  Ephnissi, 
Albert  Diirer  et  ses  desshis,  Paris,  1862. 


RAPHAEL 


257 


his  composition  the  stamp  of  originality,  he  copied  the 
models  in  their  most  minute  details,  such  as  the  group  of 
the  aerial  gods,  that  of  the  fluvial  and  sea  gods,  the  land- 
scape with  the  grazing  cattle,  the  attitude  of  the  three  con- 
tending Beauties,  the  staff  of  Paris,  and  the  helmet  of 
Minerva. 

The  impression  created  among  artists  by  Marcantonio's 
plate  after  Raphael's  design  was  unprecedented,  and  has 
lasted  to  the  present  day.  Reproductions  of  it,  total  or  partial, 
are  wdthout  number.  It  appears  in  a  Limoges  plaquette  of 
enamelled  grisaille,  now  in  the  Imperial  Museum  at  Vienna; 
in  three  cameos  of  the  same  collection  ;  in  the  reliefs  of  a 
silver   ewer   designed   by   Rubens   for  King  Charles  I;  in 


The  recumbent  figure  of  a  river  god,  modelled  by  Michelangelo  in  a  clay  bas-relief, 
formerly  in  the  Gherardesca  palace,  Florence 


2.")8  L'M'IIAKL 

tliiic  works  (tf  Iviiltt'iis  liiuiscli'  described  by  Goeler  von 
Kavriisluiri;- ;  in  a  iiiajolica  plate  of  the  Art  Museiiin  at 
Milan;  in  the  trontispiece  of  l\osini's  "Antiquities,"  etc. 
Strani^cr  i'mmi  is  the  fact  that  liaj)liael  himself  and  some  of 
his  pupils  should  ha\e  honowed  motives  for  other  composi- 
tions from  the  same  plate.  Tims  the  H<;ure  of  the  river 
god  at  the  right-hand  corner  appears  again  in  the  fresco 
of  Heliodorns,  and  perhaps  it  is  not  by  chance  that  the 
portrait  of  Marcantonio  himself  is  seen  in  the  opposite  corner 
of  tiiat  magnificent  composition,  among  the  bearers  of  the 
state  chair  upon  which  sits  Pope  Julius  II. 

The  illustration  on  page  2;'>7  represents  the  recumbent 
figure  of  another  river  god  in  exactly  the  same  attitude, 
modelled  by  Michelangelo,  in  a  terra-cotta  bas-relief  formerly 
in  the  Gherardesca  palace  at  Florence.  The  engraving  from 
wliich  the  illustration  is  taken  bears  the  following  legend  : 
"  Cavato  da  un  bassorilievo  in  terra-cotta  appresso  i  signori 
conti  della  Gherardesca,  opera  di  Michelagnolo  Buonar- 
roti." 

Quite  interesting  is  the  way  in  which  Raphael  has  inter- 
preted the  Jupiter  group,  on  the  right-hand  corner  of  the 
Medici  sarco]>hagus.  The  Greco-Roman  artist  who  modelled 
it  had  made  the  feet  of  the  Father  of  the  Gods  rest  upon 
a  piece  of  cloth,  held  at  both  ends  by  the  figure  of  Cjelus 
(Heaven),  Raphael,  seeing  the  cloth  swollen  in  the  manner 
of  a  sail  infiated  by  the  wind,  thouo'lit  the  fioure  holdinsf 
it  to  be  /Eolus,  and  in  this  guise  he  reproduced  it  in  his 
own  design,  with  open  mouth  and  in  a  Hying  attitude,  thus 
transforming  the  classic  Jupiter,  whose  throne  rests  on  the 
solid  sphere  of  Heaven,  into  a  Jehovah  borne  through  the 
skies  by  wind  and  clouds.  Vasari  had  already  been  struck 
by  this  new  way  of  treating  the  figure  of  the  Eternal  Father, 
and  called  it  accordingly  "  a  God  in  the  style  of  Jupiter." 


THE  VISIOxX  OF  EZEKIEL,   IN  THE  PITTI  PALACE 


RAFHAEL  261 

Its  best  expression  is  to  be  found  in  the  Vision  of  Ezekiel 
of  the  Pitti  gallery,  which,  if  not  the  work  of  Raphael's 
own  pencil,  is  certainly  a  contemporary  copy  of  the  lost 
original.  At  all  events,  the  type  of  Jupiter,  as  expressed  in 
the  Medici  sarcophagus,  had  made  such  a  marked  impression 
on  Raphael's  mind  that  we  find  it  repeated  once  more  in 
one  of  the  spandrils  of  the  "  Loggia  della  Farnesina." 

Raphael  is  known  to  have  gone  a  step  farther  in  this 
matter  of  imitating  the  antique ;  he  took  a  cast  of  a  Greek 
relief,  and  reproduced  it  bodily  in  one  of  his  best  and  less 
known  masterpieces,  viz.,  in  the  bronze  panel  of  the  Woman 
of  Samaria,  in  the  Chigi  chapel  at  Santa  Maria  del  Popolo. 

The  fate  of  this  gem  of  art  and  of  the  shrine  in  which  it 
is  set  is  worthy  of  being  related.  Agostino  Chigi  —  the 
prince  of  finance  of  the  first  quarter  of  the  sixteenth  century, 
whose  career  will  be  described  in  my  next  and  last  chapter 
—  had  commissioned  Raphael  to  design  and  erect  his  tomb 
in  the  above-mentioned  family  chapel ;  and  by  a  will  dated 
August  28,  1519,  he  had  entrusted  to  Antonio  da  San 
Marino,  the  goldsmith,  the  care  of  superintending  the  finish- 
ing of  the  work.  The  master  having  died  in  the  subsequent 
year,  the  work  was  taken  up  by  Lorenzetto,  who  pledged 
himself  to  complete  iVgostino's  mausoleum,  as  well  as  that 
of  his  brother  Sigismondo,  in  the  space  of  thirty  months 
from  the  signing  of  the  contract  (February  10,  1821).  Lo- 
renzetto, driven  away  from  Rome  by  the  plague  and  by  the 
ill-will  of  the  uncouth  Pope  Adrian  VI,  left  the  work  un- 
finished. At  the  time  of  his  death,  which  took  place  in  1541, 
the  statues  of  Jonah  and  Elias  were  still  stored  in  his  studio 
at  the  Macel  de'  Corsi,  and  the  medallion  of  Agostino  was 
in  the  hands  of  one  of  the  testamentary  executors.^ 

1  Compare  Gnoli  Domenico,  "  La  sepoltura  d'  Agostino  Chigi  nella  chiesa  di 
S.  Maria  del  Popolo,"  ia  Archivio  storico  delV  Arte,  a.  1889,  pp.  310-326. 


•jc.ii  i;M'Iim:l 

It  was  only  in  \7>sl  tliat  Ai;<)stiii()'s  son  Lorenzo  settled 
(he  a(C()iiiit<  with  Loienzetto's  heirs.  The  Jonah  and  the 
KHa>  were  jtlacnl  in  thcii'  niches;  Cecchino  Salviati  finished 
the  altar-piece,  be«»iin  by  Sel)astiano  del  Piombo  ;  Francesco 
X'anni  painted  the  David  and  the  Aaron  in  the  Innettes; 
and  the  chapel,  to  the  decoration  of  which  all  the  great 
masters  of  the  age  had  thus  contributed,  was  opened  for 
service  III   1.).)-!:. 

The  Chigi  faniilv  in  the  mean  time,  ruined  by  the  eccen- 
tricities of  Loren/o  and  j)ressed  by  creditors,  retired  to  Siena 
ill  l.~)7.'>.  and  the  chapels  at  Santa  Maria  del  Popolo  and 
at  Santa  Maria  della  Pace  were  abandoned  to  their  fate, 
in  s})ite  of  the  treasures  they  contained.  Their  roofs  gave 
wav  ;  rain  filtered  throu<»h  the  cracks  of  their  vaulted  ceil- 
ings:  pieces  of  plaster  and  a  layer  of  dust  covered  their 
altars,  and  hid  the  frescoes  from  view.  This  state  of  things 
lasted  until  the  year  1G2G,  in  which  the  future  Pope  Fabio 
Chigi  again  took  possession  of  both  shrines,  and  found  that 
even  the  grave  of  Sigismondo  had  been  usurped  by  an  out- 
sider, the  Cardinal  Antoniotto  Pallavicino.  Poor  Cardinal 
Antoniotto,  whose  bones  had  found  no  rest  for  over  a  cen- 
tury I  Having  been  buried  in  the  apse  of  San  Pietro  Vecchio 
in  15U1,  he  was  left  in  possession  of  his  beautiful  grave  for 
a  brief  time  only,  because  that  section  of  the  old  Constan- 
tinian  basilica  was  soon  levelled  to  the  ground  by  Bramante, 
and  the  tomb  was  removed  to  the  choir  of  Santa  Maria 
del  Popolo.  Cardinal  Sauli  in  1624  transferred  it  from  the 
ciioir  to  the  Chigi  chapel,  which  was  then  considered  "res 
nullius."  Two  years  later  Fabio  Chigi  once  more  removed 
it,  and  it  now  appears  to  have  found  a  well-earned  i)eace  in 
the  first  chapel  of  the  left  aisle  of  the  church. 

The  coiuinission  to  restore  Raphael's  creation  to  its  former 
splendor   was   given    by   Fabio  to    Lorenzo  Bernini,  under 


RAPHAEL 


263 


The  Woman  of  Samaria,  a  panel  by  Lorenzetto  in  the  chapel  at  Santa  Maria  del 

Popolo 

whose  guidance  many  changes  were  made,  and  not  very 
happy  ones.  For  instance,  the  panel  modelled  by  Raphael 
and  cast  in  bronze  by  Lorenzetto,  which  formed  the  principal 
ornament  of  the  banker's  tomb,  was  removed  from  its  place, 
and  turned  into  an  altar-front  or  "  paliotto."  The  bas- 
relief  represents  the  Redeemer  sitting  by  the  well  and 
having  speech  with  the  apostles,  who  have  just  returned 
from  the  city,  bringing  with  them  food  and  wine.  From 
the  city  also,  but  from  a  different  gate,  emerges  the  Woman 
of  Samaria  at  the  head  of  a  group  of  men  eager  to  see  the 
Prophet.  All  the  traditional  forms  and  types  of  Christian 
art  are  cast  aside  in  this  beautiful  composition  :  one  is 
tempted  to  believe  that  it  represents  a  gathering  of  men 


The  Danzatrici  Borghese,  now  in  tlie  Louvre 


'JC.t 


nAPHAEL 


(^^§-j\ 


M.iul.:. 


:_    ,    \\i. nil  .ui  .1  I  amlrl.ilir  I.  ,1   rdiiiiiaiiioii  panel  to  the  Daiizatriei, 
fornii'rlv  in  ilic  \'illa  Uorjilu'se.  and  now  in  the  L(iiivr« 


and  iiiaidt'iis  on  the  hanks  of  the  IHssiis,  rather  than  a 
8i'ene  from  tlie  GospeL  Raphael's  inspiration  from  the  an- 
ti(jne  was  well  hrought  into  shape  hy  Lorenzetto,  who  had 
spent  most  of  his  yonng-er  days  in  restoring"  the  antiqnes 
wliicli  tlie  patricians  were  then  gathering  in  their  gardens 
and  palaces.  The  Woman  of  Samaria  needs  only  the  thyr- 
sus to  become  a  Bacchante ;  her  figure,  in  fact,  is  not 
sketched  hnt  actually  moulded  from  a  Greek  original,  with 
only   sliglit  touches   in   secondary  details  to   make   it  har- 


>i 


A  Hriinzp  Ill-plica  of  the  above,  now  in  the  Salle  des  Caryatides 


RAPHAEL  265 

monize  with  the  rest.  The  original  has  been  pointed  out 
by  Loewy  :  it  is  the  beautiful  bas-relief  of  the  dancing  girls 
known  as  the  "  Danzatrici  Borghese,"  because  it  belonged 
to  the  collection  of  that  family  before  its  removal  to  the 
Louvre  by  the  French  invaders  of  1793.  The  same  scheme 
occurs  in  another  relief  formerly  preserved  in  the  Capranica 
della  Valle  palace,  and  now  in  the  Galleria  degli  Ufhzi,  which 
must  have  been  known  to  Lorenzetto,  the  architect  of  the 
Capranica  della  Valle  palace  and  the  restorer  of  its  arcluBO- 
loofical  collections. 

Another  bas-relief  preserved,  like  the  Danzatrici,  in  the 
Villa  Borghese,  belonging  probably  to  the  same  monument, 
and  now  also  exhibited  in  the  Louvre,  has  had  the  honor 
of  being  copied —  if  not  actually  moulded  and  cast  —  by  a 
sixteenth  century  sculptor,  who  may  be  the  same  Lorenzetto, 
the  great  admirer  of  the  Danzatrici.  It  represents  two 
maidens  in  the  act  of  hanging  a  garland  on  a  candelabra, 
while  a  third  is  approaching  the  group  from  the  left,  car- 
rying a  fresh  supply  of  flowers  in  her  hand.  I  must  mention 
in  the  last  place  another  replica  of  the  Danzatrici,  also  cast 
in  bronze  by  a  Renaissance  artist,  which  forms  part  of  the 
Wallace  collection  at  Hertford  House,  and  which  has  lately 
given  a  charming  subject  for  discussion  to  Claude  Phillips, 
W.  Thode,  and  Etienne  Michon.^ 

I  propose  now  to  take  the  reader  to  the  house  inhabited 
by  Raphael  in  the  last  period  of  his  life,  which,  I  grieve 
to  say,  has  not  yet  been  transformed  into  a  shrine  sacred  to 
his  memory. 

Pope  Alexander  VI,  wishing  to  provide  the  Vatican  with 

^  Compare  Claude  Phillips,  "A  Bronze  Relief  in  the  Wallace  Collection," 
in  the  Burlington  Magazine  oi  February,  1904,  pp.  111-124;  Thode,  !6«d.  March, 
1904,  p.  215;  Etienne  Michon,  Un  Bas-relief  de  bronze  du  musee  du  Louvre, 
Paris,  1905. 


L>GO  HArilAF.L 

a  hettor  approach  fVoin  the  hrid^c  of  Saiit'  Aiioclo  than 
that  alVonhMl  hy  the  iianow  ami  tortuous  ('arriera  Sancta 
(tlie  |)ifsi'iit  Ii()ri;-o  Vecchio).  opened  in  1499  a  new  road 
tlu-oniiii  orehards  and  n'ardens,  which  he  called  "  Alessan- 
(Iriiia."  a  name  now  re])laci'd  1)V  that  of  Borgo  Nnovo. 
I'rivih'o-es  were  granted  to  owners  of  property  on  either  side 
of  tile  street,  provided  tliey  would  ereet  houses  within  a 
specified  time,  with  fayades  at  least  forty-three  feet  high. 
Now  it  lia})peiu'd  that  the  trustees  of  the  hospital  of  Santo 
Sjtirito.  whose  ])roj»erty,  named  *'  II  Palazzo  della  Stufa," 
had  \n'v\\  cut  through  l>y  the  new  street,  not  being-  able  to 
stand  the  expense  of  reluiilding'  it,  sold  it,  on  June  5,  1500, 
to  Adriano  Caprini  of  Viterbo,  apostolic  prothonotary  and 
secretary  to  the  cardinal  of  Capua,  on  condition  that  he 
>li(Mdd  make  a  yearly  contrihution  of  twenty-four  ducats  to 
the  hospital,  and  complete  the  building  within  the  time 
stated  in  the  papal  edict.  Adriano  Cai)rini,  who  had  already 
met  Hramante,  during  the  hitter's  stay  at  Viterbo  for  the 
reconstruction  of  the  sanctuary  of  the  Madonna  della 
(^uercia.  gave  him  tlu'  commission  of  designing  the  new 
house ;  in  this  work  Bramante  Avas  probably  assisted  by 
Ra])hael,  who  was  at  that  time  occupying  his  leisure  hours 
in  tlie  study  of  architecture. 

( )n  the  7th  day  of  October,  l.")!?,  the  brothers  Caprini 
sold  the  mansion  to  Raphael  for  the  smu  of  3600  ducats. 
Vasiiri,  with  his  habitual  carelessness,  speaks  twice  of  this 
transaction,  giving  the  reader  to  understand  that  Raphael 
liimself  had  commissioned  Bramante  to  desio-n  the  new 
fa^'ade  (per  lasciare  memoria  di  se'  fece  murare  un  palazzo  a 
Roma  in  Borgo  Nnovo,  il  quale  Bramante  .  .  .  etc.).  The 
di.scovery  of  the  title  deed'   settles  all  controversy  on  this 

'  .M;i(lc  by  Adaino  Itossi  in   1844  in  the  Arcliivic    Urbano  of   Rome,  Diver- 
sorum,  vol.  xxx. 


RAPHAEL  267 

point,  because  in  October,  1517,  the  old  architect  liad  been 
dead  three  years.  Vasari's  passage,  therefore,  must  be 
interpreted  in  the  sense  that  Kaphael  became  in  1517  the 
owner  of  a  palatial  residence,  the  designs  for  which  had 
been  furnished  to  the  vendor  by  Bramante. 

Would  it  be  possible  after  the  lapse  of  four  centuries  to 
identify  its  site  and  perhaps  to  find  traces  of  the  studio  in 
which  the  divine  artist  painted  his  last  canvases,  and  of 
the  room  in  which  he  gave  his  last  farewell  to  the  For- 
narina  ?  To  answer  these  two  questions  satisfactorily  we 
must  follow  the  transfers  of  the  property  from  hand  to 
hand  until  our  own  times. 

First  of  all,  it  is  not  true  that  the  property  had  been 
left  by  the  dying  artist  to  Cardinal  da  Bibbiena,  as  it  were 
in  expiation  of  his  behavior  towards  the  latter's  niece 
Maria;  on  the  contrary,  the  executors  of  the  will,  pressed 
by  creditors,  headed  by  the  duke  of  Ferrara,^  sold  it  in 
October,  1520,  to  Cardinal  Pietro  Accolti,  the  nearest  neigh- 
bor, with  the  approbation  of  Leo  X.  The  property  could 
not  have  fallen  into  better  hands,  the  purchaser's  lineage, 
culture,  dignities,  and  appreciation  of  art  making  him  the 
most  suitable  tenant   of  the  late  master's  rooms.    The  rea- 

'  It  seems  hardly  credible  that  the  noble  and  wealthy  duke  should  be  so 
anxious  to  recover  the  paltry  sum  of  forty  ducats  advanced  to  the  deceased  artist 
for  a  picture  which  he  had  left  unfinished.  More  strange  to  me  is  the  behavior 
of  the  executors  in  getting  rid  so  hastily  of  a  valuable  property  in  order  to 
pay  such  absurdly  small  debts,  when  it  is  an  indisputable  fact  that  Raphael 
had  died  a  comparatively  wealthy  man.  From  April  1,  1514,  he  had  drawn  a 
salary  of  three  hundred  ducats  a  year  for  superintending  the  Fabbrica,  which 
he  deposited  with  the  court  banker,  Simone  Ricasoli;  he  had  received  further- 
more a  remuneration  of  twelve  hundred  scudi  for  each  of  the  frescoes  of  the 
stanze.  In  a  despatch  of  the  ambassador  of  Ferrara,  written  the  day  after  Ra- 
phael's death,  the  amount  of  the  fortune  left  by  him  is  set  down  at  sixteen  thou- 
sand ducats,  of  which  six  thousand  was  in  houses  and  landed  property.  Vasari's 
story,  therefore,  concerning  the  cardinalship  offered  in  compensation  for  the 
vast  arrears  due  to  him  by  the  Camera,  is  without  foundation. 


2G8  uai'Iim:l 

son  of  tlii>  piircliase  must  be  found  in  the  fact  that  the  two 
palaces,  tliat  of  Kaphael  and  tliat  of  the  cardinal,  stood  so 
close  to  t'acli  oiIut  that  there  had  been  complaints  between 
tlu'  owners  about  the  smoke  of  a  chimney,  which  prevented 
the  artist  from  workiui;-  in  liis  studio  when  the  wmd  blew 
from  tlic  w«'st.  Tlu'  two  proj)erties,  in  fact,  were  separated 
only  by  the  huml)lc  dwellino-  of  a  Venetian  named  Barto- 
lonuM*  Zon.  The  block  was  inherited  in  1532  by  Accolti's 
nephew  Henedetto,  a  cardinal  himself  and  archbishop  of 
Kavtnna.  who  was  imprisoned  in  the  castle  of  Sant'  Angelo 
by  order  of  Paul  111,  and  set  free  in  1535  on  the  payment 
of  a  ransom  or  security  of  sixty  thousand  scudi. 

Cardinal  Benedetto  sold  the  property  in  1510  for  the  in- 
siirnilicant  sum  of  six  thousand  scudi  to  Benvenuto  Olivieri, 
a  banker  of  Florence,  and  in  the  deed  the  location  and  the 
boundaries  of  Raphael's  dwelling  are  specified  in  a  perfectly 
clear  way. 

'•The  property,"  it  says,  "  is  bounded  by  the  Via  Alessan- 
drina  [Borgo  Nuovo]  on  the  north ;  the  piazza  of  Cardinal 
Salviati  [Scossacavalli]  on  the  east;  the  Carver  la  Sancta 
[Borgo  Vecchio]  on  the  south ;  and  the  houses  of  the 
bishop  of  Ancona  on  the  north."  We  know,  therefore,  that 
the  house  of  llaphael  must  be  found  within  the  area  of  the 
])resent  Osi)izio  dei  Convertendi,  to  which  institution  the 
l)lock  was  bequeathed  by  Cardinal  Gastaldi,  the  last  private 
owner,  in  1085.'  The  identification  is  made  easier  by  the 
many  drawings  of  the  sixteenth  century  artists  in  which 
the  block  is  represented  in  its  original  state.  The  one  1 
have  selected  for  my  illustration  is  an  engraving  published 
by  Ij^ifreri  in  1549,  with  the  title  "  7?«^9/i[aelis]  urhlnat[\s 
palatium]  ex  hqnde  coctiJi  Romae  exstructum,''  which  must 

'  The  property  liad  passed  from  Benvenuto  Olivieri  to  another  Florentine 
banker,  Strozzi,  and  later  on  to  Cardinals  Coniendone,  Spinola,  and  Gastaldi. 


RAPHAEL  269 

be  understood  in  the  sense  that  Biamante  had  made  use  in 
building  of  a  new  kind  o£  masonry,  called  by  Lafreri  "  lapis 
coctilis,"  and  by  Vasari  "  fabbrica  di  getto." 

Identical  with  this  print  are  the  drawing  by  Palladio,  pub- 
lished by  Geymiiller  in  his  "  Raffaele  studiato  come  archi- 
tetto,"  and  another  by  Domenico  Alfani  (in  the  municipal 


w^%:\ ''  'ff^itxr. 


The  house  of  Raphael  in  the  Borgo,  from  an  engraving-  by  A.  Lafreri 

library  at  Perugia),  who  on  visiting  Rome  in  1581  made  a 
pilgrimage  to  the  house  and  grave  of  Raphael,  and  entered 
notes  of  both  in  his  sketch-book.  The  sketch  of  the  house 
is  interesting  because  it  shows  the  ground  floor  already 
transformed  by  Cardinal  Comendone  into  its  present  state. 

I  have  been  obliged  to  enter  into  these  particulars  in 
order  to  convince  the  reader  that  what  I  am  now  going  to 
state  in  regard  to  Raphael's  studio  and  bedchamber  is  not 
a  matter  of  conjecture,  but  the  simple  and  indisputable 
truth. 

There  is  no  doubt  that  very  little  is  left  of  the  original 
building,  owing  to  the  incredible  negligence  of  Bramante, 


'J7(» 


i:.\  rii  m:l 


mIu»  mav  liaxf  ln'cii  a  genial  artist,  hut  wlio  was  (.'eitainly  a 
wn'tclu'tl  hnildiT.  Tlic  toiiiidatioiis  have  been  strengthened, 
|u<i|i|tfd  lip.  (»r  iclmdt  (xnoro  not  k'ss  tlian  five  times, — - 
first  l>y  C'onu'iidoiic  in  l.")S2,  second  l)V  Gastaldi  in  IGH."), 
tliird  after  the  inundation  ot  ISO."),  ai;ain  by  Bohlrini  in 
1S48,  and  hy  Martinneci  in  1870.  And  yet  the  principal 
part  of  the  house  —  the  atelier  of  the  divine  artist  —  has 
escapccl    destruction.     Tiie    room    occupies   the    corner    l)e- 

tween  the  piazza  di  Scossaca- 
valii  and  the  Borgo,  with  two 
^vindows  on  the  former,  and 
it  is  remarkable  both  for  its 
size  and  ]ieisj;ht  and  for  the 
l)eautiful  wooden  ceiling,  which 
a  committee  of  experts,  ap- 
pointed in  1889  by  the  city, 
declared  to  be  ''  corretta  gran- 
diosa  .  .  .  opera  di  Bramante." 
The  greed  of  the  modern 
owners  has  ruined  the  artistic 
effect  of  the  room  by  cutting- 
it  into  two  apartments,  with 
the  help  of  a  partition  wall,  an 
obstacle  which  we  hope  soon  to 
see  removed.  And  here  I  must 
refer  the  reader  to  my  friend 

The  house  of  Ka,.!,...!  (.lott..!  lin.s).     Domenico  Gnoh,  the  illustrious 
tran.sfori.i.>a  into  its  present  shape     poet  and  historian,  wlio  entered 

hv  Cardinal  ComeiKlone  in  1.582  ,i  •      i  p         ,i        r«      i    j  • 

this  liouse  tor  the  hrst  time  in 
188(5.  '*  I  had  for  a  companion  in  this  visit,"  he  says,  "  a 
young  arcliitect,  the  author  of  the  national  monument  to 
Victor  Emmanuel  [Count  Giuseppe  Sacconi],  and  on  cross- 
ing the  threshold  and  raising  our  eyes  to  the  ceiling,  we 


KArilAEL  271 

were  struck  by  the  same  idea.  Consideriiio-  how  the  heiolit 
of  the  room  is  characteristic  of  an  artist's  studio,  wliere  a 
canvas  of  the  size  of  that  of  the  Transfiguration  coukl  be 
painted,  it  is  impossible  not  to  feel  a  thrill  of  emotion,  not 
to  bend  one's  knee  in  reverence,  not  to  imagine  the  glorious 
youth,  the  most  absolute  and  perfect  incarnation  of  Italian 
genius,  lying  at  the  foot  of  his  last  creation,  among  his 
weeping  pupils  and  friends.  Poor  Margherita  is  dragged 
away  from  the  house  of  her  lover;  painters,  prelates,  and 
cardinals  are  coming  and  going  with  grief  stamped  on  their 
countenances ;  and  the  Pope  is  sending  every  moment  for 
news.  It  is  the  night  of  Good  Friday,  the  anniversary  of  the 
Lord's  death.  Suddenly  some  cracks  appear  in  the  Loggie 
painted  by  the  dead  man,  which  seem  to  threaten  ruin  to  the 
Vatican  palace.  Leo  X  runs  for  shelter,  by  the  corridor  of 
Alexander  VI,  to  the  castle  of  Sant'  Angelo,  while  the  sad 
news  is  spread  through  the  city  and  the  foreign  ambassadors 
hasten  to  communicate  it  to  their  respective  governments. 
Raphael  is  dead  !  The  king  of  art  is  no  more.  Yet  when  a 
king  dies  his  crown  passes  to  another  head;  but  w^here  is  a 
successor  to  be  found  who  can  wear  Raphael's  ideal  crown?" 
A  door  opening  on  the  south  wall  of  the  studio  led  into 
a  loggia  which  extended  as  far  as  the  corner  of  the  Borgo 
Vecchio.  The  loggia  had  six  arches  supported  by  stone 
pilasters,  resembling  in  design  and  ornamentation  those  of 
the  Vatican  palace,  named  after  Raphael  himself.  Here,  in 
the  cool  of  the  evening,  he  must  have  found  himself  sur- 
rounded oftentimes  by  his  own  School  of  Athens,  conversing 
with  Bembo  and  Castiglione,  while  his  old  and  austere  guest, 
Fabio  Calvo,  Avould  be  explaining  the  rules  of  Vitruvius  to 
Giulio  and  Lorenzetto.  We  must  complete  the  group  with 
the  figures  of  Giovanni  da  Lidine,  il  Fattore,  and  Marean- 
tonio  Raimondi  discussing  the  move  of  a  line  or  the  value 


•J  7 'J  l;.\l'IIAKL 

(it  a  tone  of  color,  or  laiiL;hiii.i;"  wltli  Bihhiena  and  Messer 
IJranc-oni  dall'  Acpilla,  the  well-known  keeper  of  the  elephant 
presented  t«»  L('(»  X  l>y  the  king  of  Portugal,  a  great  beast 
whicli  liail  the  distinction  of  being  portrayed  by  Raphael, 
and  t)f  iiivinii"  its  name  to  a  street. 

And  what  an  iinj)ressive  view  they  would  behold  from 
the  loggia  !  There  stood  on  the  right  side  the  Palazzo  dei 
Penitenzieri,  built  by  Cardinal  Domenico  della  Rovere  and 
<l('(oratcd  by  Pinturicchio,  facing  the  one  designed  by 
Pramante  for  the  wealthy  Cardinal  Adriano  Castelli  da 
Corneto.  How  many  tales  of  crime,  how  many  deeds  of 
violence,  how  many  traditions  of  splendor  and  wickedness 
could  be  mentioned  in  connection  with  both  places.  From 
the  irate  of  the  first  not  long;-  affo  the  handsome  Cardinal 
Alldosi  had  emerged,  to  be  murdered  by  Francesco  Maria 
dclla  Uovere's  own  hand  in  the  streets  of  Ravenna  ;  and  in 
the  garden  of  the  second  a  tragical  supper  had  taken  place, 
which  had  cost  Alexander  VI  his  life,  and  his  son  Ctesar 
Borgia  a  cruel  illness.  The  background  was  formed  by  the 
castle  of  Sant'  Angelo,  where  Leo  X  had  just  caused  Car- 
dinal Petrucci  to  be  ])ut  to  death  by  strangulation,  while  he 
was  examining  with  the  help  of  glasses  the  scenes  painted 
by  Iiaphael  for  the  representation  of  the  Suppositi  of  Ari- 
osto. 

Tn  the  history  of  the  Peninsula  we  find  no  drama  which 
can  stand  a  com|)arison  for  scenes  of  wickedness  and 
grandeur,  for  civilization  and  barbarity,  with  the  one  en- 
acted in  Rome  from  the  pontificate  of  the  Borgia  to  the 
sack  of  1;')27.  Under  Leo  X,  however,  no  rumors  of  war, 
no  cons])iracies.  no  political  contingencies,  no  religious  con- 
troversies could  check  the  gay,  careless,  thoughtless  s])irit 
which  prevailed  in  court  circles,  and  especially  among  the 
Florentine  element  by  which  the  Pope  was  surrounded.     A 


RAPHAEL 


273 


hunting  party  in  the  woods  of  La  Magliana,  a  new  play  by 
Bibbiena,  a  fresh  joke  by  Fra  Mariano,  the  completion  of  a 
new  masterpiece  by  Bramante,  Raphael,  or  Marcantonio,  a 
corrida  or  a  tournament  attended  with  loss  of  life,  and  other 


of  CupTUi 


House  of 


Pft.Uxio  olei. 
Soe(e-tvvi.v 


PilaLaiB.  di  s-Clementc 
►vow  jii. 


CHuvvck  of 


7iiMyM 


/y////////////y.- 


Plan  of  view  from  Raphael's  house 

such  wonders  of  the  moment,  aroused  the  interest  of  society 
more  than  the  rumors  of  war  or  of  an  impending  religious 
secession.  In  the  midst  of  the  joyous  throng  of  masks  cele- 
brating the  carnival,  of  the  cavalcades  of  state  in  which  each 
prince  of  the  church  rode  at  the  head  of  a  powerful  retinue 
of  courtiers,  body-guards,  and  partisans,  in  the  general 
thoughtlessness  of  the  day,  a  keen  observer  would  have 
noticed  an  unknown  German  friar,  on  his  way  from  the 
Augustinian  convent  of  Santa  Maria  del  Popolo  to  the  grave 
of    St.   Peter,  casting  horrified  glances  at  such  scenes  of 


•JTI  UM'llM'.L 

ini»niltlt'|>ravati()n,ami(l  such  siinouiidin^s.  'I'lic  sack  of  l.")!'? 
was  till'  outc-oiiH'  of  the  iiiii)ressioiis  which  the  unknown 
German  triar  canicil  away  from  Rome  on  returning  to  his 
native  land. 

Alt.  Iiowcvcr.  ('(jiially  unconscious  of  the  cruelties  of  the 
Ht»ri;ia.  of  the  warHUe  aiiil)itions  of  the  delki  Rovere,  and  of 
till'  i;-aveties  of  the  Medici,  had  risen  pnre,  noble,  great,  to 
lu'ights  never  attained  before  ;  Raphael's  house  had  become 
its  tciujilc.  Koine  know  of  but  one  artist,  and  considered 
tliat  otlicr  ])aiiiters,  architects,  and  sculptors  merely  carried 
out  liis  designs.  Wliile  he  himself  was  directing  the  recon- 
struction of  St.  Peter's,  and  })ainting  the  St.  Michael  and 
tlie  Pearl  for  the  king  of  France,  and  the  Transfignration 
for  Cardinal  de'  Medici,  princes,  bankers,  noblemen,  pre- 
lates were  soliciting  other  works  from  his  hand.  To  no  less 
strain  was  put  the  energy  of  his  pupils,  who  were  covering 
the  walls  of  the  Stanze  and  the  ceilino's  of  the  Loefa'ie  with 
immortal  paintings,  building  palaces  and  villas,  laying  ont 
gardens,  decorating  fagades  and  loggias  Avith  reliefs  in  gilt 
stucco,  excavating  ancient  ruins,  and  scouring  Latium,  Cam- 
pania, and  Greece  in  qnest  of  classic  architectnral  motives. 
No  such  active  workshop  has  been  or  will  ever  be  known  in 
the  history  of  art. 


CHAPTER   VII 

AGOSTINO    CHIGI    "  IL    MAGNIFICO  "     AND    THE     "  CONTRADA 

DEI    BANCHI  " 

Agostino  Chigi,  born  at  Siena  about  14:65,  of  Mariano 
and  Margarita  Bakli,  was  gifted  by  nature  with  such  keen 
insight  and  exquisite  tact  in  the  art  of  trading,  that  before 
reaching  his  fortieth  year  he  had  become,  financially,  the 
most  powerful  man  in  the  world.  Republics  and  kingdoms, 
Christians  and  infidels,  })opes  and  sultans  alike,  showed  the 
same  anxiety  to  secure  his  help  in  monetary  affairs,  and 
the  same  willingness  to  entrust  to  him  the  collectorship  of 
their  revenues  and  customs.  Not  less  "  magnifico  "  does  he 
appear  in  connection  with  art  and  artists,  his  name  being 
inseparable  from  those  of  Raphael,  Peruzzi,  Giulio  Romano, 
il  Sodoma,  Penni,  Luciani,  Lotti,  Nani,  whom  he  favored 
and  enriched,  and  whom  he  led  to  the  accomplishment  of 
such  beautiful  works  as  the  chapel  in  the  church  of  Santa 
Maria  della  Pace,  the  chapel  of  our  Lady  of  Loreto  in  the 
church  of  Santa  Maria  del  Popolo,  and  the  Casino  and  gar- 
dens by  the  Porta  Settimiana  (the  Farnesina).  By  a  curious 
but  by  no  means  unprecedented  coincidence,  while  many  of 
his  contemporaries  of  dubious  fame,  or  of  no  fame  at  all,  have 
found  their  historians  and  their  panegyrists,  no  record  exists 
of  the  career  of  Agostino,  if  we  except  the  three  attempts 
made  by  Cardinal  Sforza  Pallavicino,  Giuseppe  Bonafede  the 
Augustinian,  and  Angelo   Galluzzi  the  Jesuit,^   which  are 

1  Pallavicino,  Vita  di  Alei^^anilm  VII,  Rome,  1849,  vii,  1  ;  Bonafede, 
/  Chigi  Augusti,  Venice,  1660,  p.  169  ;  Galluzzi,  Duodecim  virorum  e  gente, 
Chisia  elogia,  MSS.  in  the  Chigi  Library  marked  R.  V.  e. 


•J7(i  ji;()ST/\o  ciiiai  -  IL  macxifico" 

luirdlv  worth  iiu'iitioiimi;".  A  l)i()<;ra|)liy,  liowever,  exists, 
uiittt'ii  by  Ai;()stiiu)'s  ow n  iit'pliew,  Fabio  Cliigi,  who,  havin«^ 
been  fleeted  Poj)e  in  lO.")."),  took  the  luinie  of  Alexander  VII, 
This  vahiablf  iiiamiscript,  diseoveied  by  Professor  Giuseppe 
Ciii;iii»iii  ill  1S7*.>  and  edited  in  the  following  year/  sup- 
plies lis  with  int'oniiation  eoneerning  the  splendid  use  whieh 
Agostino  made  of  his  boundless  wealth,  an  objeet  lesson 
to  modern  Croesuses,  who  "  pecudum  ritu  ad  voluptatem 
omnia  referunt."  - 

The  Contrada  dei  Banchi,  the  Wall  Street  of  the  Renais- 
sance, is  among  those  which  have  suffered  the  most  in  the 
recent  transformation  of  the  city.  A  centre  of  life,  business, 
and  wealth  —  where  real  property  had  attained  fabulous 
prices  —  over-crowded  and  congested,  with  its  ill-lighted 
premises  and  ill-ventilated  courts,  it  began  to  lose  its  pres- 
tige after  the  middle  of  the  sixteenth  century,  viz.,  after  the 
completion  of  the  "  piano  regolatore  "  or  street  reform  of 
Paul  III.  Rank,  fashion,  and  "  la  haute  finance  "  began  to 
desert  the  populous  quarters  of  Ponte  and  Parione  to  seek 
space,  air,  health,  and  sunshine  in  those  of  Trevi,  Colonna, 
and  Monti.  And  so  it  came  to  pass  that  the  section  of  the 
city  considered  the  most  fashionable  and  desirable  from  the 
time  of  Innocent  VIII  to  that  of  Paul  III  lost  caste  after 
the  death  of  the  latter,  and  the  palazzetti,  until  then  inhab- 
ited by  bankers,  merchants,  and  prelates,  found  tenants  only 
among  the  lower  classes  of  tradesmen.  For  this  reason  the 
Contrada  dei  Banchi,  with  the  adjacent  courts,  lanes,  and 
alleys,  has  kept  its  sixteenth  century  aspect  till  the  present 
day,  free  from  the  changes  which  modern  civilization  has 
inflicted  on  more  fashionable  quarters. 

'  Archivio  delta  Societn  Romana  di  Storia  Patria,  vol.  ii,  a.  1879,  pp.  38,  209, 
475  ;  vol.  iii,  1880,  pp.  213,  291,  422. 
'  Cicero,  Laelius,  9. 


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AGOSTINO   CHIGI  '' IL   MAONIFICO"  '279 

By  tlie  expression  "  tlie  present  day  "  I  mean  a  period  of 
time  ^vithin  my  own  personal  recollection,  because  evil  days 
have  fallen  lately  u})on  this  picturesque  corner,  depriving 
it  of  many  landmarks  and  of  many  associations  with  a  glo- 
rious past.  The  men  to  whom  the  city  has  entrusted  the 
safeo'uardino-  of  its  archieoloofical  and  historical  interests 
cannot  be  called  responsible  for  the  damage  done,  because, 
when  the  piano  regolatore  was  discussed  and  sanctioned  in 
1873-75,  we  had  obtained  a  guarantee  that  the  Contrada 
dei  Banchi  should  suffer  no  alteration.  In  1889,  however, 
the  Town  Council  was  suddenly  asked  to  sanction  an  altera- 
tion in  the  line  of  the  new  Corso  Vittorio  Emmanuele,  and 
before  we  conservative  men  had  recovered  from  our  surprise 
the  banks  and  the  houses  of  the  Martelli,  of  the  Bini,  of 
the  Altoviti,  of  the  Ricasoli,  and  the  Oratorio  dei  Fiorentini 
had  fallen  under  the  pickaxe  of  the  reformer. 

Agostino's  first  move  in  business  was  to  join  forces  with 
the  Sienese  banker,  Stefano  Ghinucci.  Their  aggregate 
capital  did  not  exceed  two  thousand  two  hundred  and  fifty 
dollars,  and  the  office  they  rented  in  the  Via  dei  Banchi  was 
quite  unpretentious  ;  yet  they  succeeded  so  well  from  the 
first,  that  on  May  30,  1502,  Agostino  was  able  to  enter  a 
second  partnership  with  Francesco  Tommasi,  with  a  capital 
of  ten  thousand  dollars.  Three  years  later  he  appears  as  the 
leading  shareholder  in  the  firm  of  Chigi,  Spannocchi  &  Co., 
and  in  1508  as  the  sole  owner  and  manao^er  of  the  most 
prosperous  and  extensive  banking  concern  in  the  world, 
dealing  with  France,  Spain,  Germany,  the  Low  Countries, 
England,  and  Turkey  in  every  possible  branch  of  trade,  and 
monopolizing  in  Italy  the  three  staple  commodities,  salt, 
wheat,  and  alum.  The  first  was  obtained  by  natural  evapora- 
tion of  the  sea  water  in  the  salt-works  of  Ostia,  Corneto, 
Camposalino,   Cervia,    and    Manfredonia,    and    distributed 


'JSn  AfrOSTIXo    CUKil    ••  IL    MAdXIFICO" 

tliroui^li  everv  city,  vilhii^e,  and  iKiinlt't  of  l)(>tli  the  Ponti- 
fical and  tilt'  Neapolitan  states,  in  aeconlanee  with  the  num- 
ber of  the  inhabitants  of  eaeh,  for  ^vhieh  purpose  Agostino 
was  sn])iili(Ml  with  ollieial  statistics  hy  both  the  Pope  and  the 
viccrov.  Salt  plavt'd  a  most  imi)ortant  part  in  public  life 
at  that  time,  when  a  rainy  sunnner  would  seriously  affect  the 
condition  of  the  evajtoration  fields,  and  lessen  or  destroy 
their  prtxluct,  and  when  the  total  absence  of  roads  made 
distribution  in  mountainous  districts  a  task  of  no  little  difh- 
cultv.  For  these  reasons  the  orant  of  a  certain  quantity  of 
salt,  free  of  duty,  was  considered  an  act  of  great  liberality 
on  the  part  of  the  Popes.  When  the  people  of  Tivoli  gave 
permission  to  Leo  X  to  destroy  14,000  feet  of  the  great 
stone  wall  which  supported  on  either  side  their  old  Via 
Tiburtina,  between  the  Sulphur  Springs  [Aqnae  alhulae) 
and  the  mausoleum  of  Plautius  Lucanus,  that  he  might  use 
the  bhicks  for  the  rebuilding  of  St.  Peter's,  the  Pope  could 
not  express  his  gratitude  in  a  more  becoming  way  than  by 
granting  them  a  yearly  present  of  fifty  bushels  of  salt  (Sep- 
tember 4,  1519).  Agostino  became  also  an  exporter,  and  so 
keen  was  the  competition  in  this  special  line  of  business  that 
in  the  year  I.')  11  he  instigated  Pope  Julius  II  to  declare  war 
against  Alfonso  d'  Este,  duke  of  Ferrara,  because  he  was 
selling  the  product  of  the  salt-works  of  Comacchio  to  Lom- 
bardy  and  Piedmont  at  a  lower  rate  than  Agostino  could 
afford  to  sell  that  of  Cervia.  Thus  thousands  of  men  were 
maimed  or  killed,  and  hundreds  of  villages  burnt  or  pillaged, 
and  the  horrors  of  war  spread  over  a  considerable  part  of 
the  Peninsula,  and  Louis  XII  and  Ferdinand  V  and  the 
'•  enetians  com})elled  to  take  a  share  in  the  fight,  for  the  sake 
of  a  small  pond  of  brine.  The  fact,  however  surprising  it 
may  appear,  is  certified  by  Leonardo  da  Porto,  Mambrino 
Roseo,  and   Francesco  Guicciardini,  three  grave  historians, 


AGOSTINO   CHIGl  '' IL   3IAGNIFIC0"  281 

who,  however,  ignore  Agostino's  personal  share  in  the 
event. 

I  regret  to  have  to  record  that  the  last  surviving-  evidence 
of  the  young  banker's  industry  in  this  branch  of  bushiess 
was  destroyed  not  many  years  ago.  The  salt-works  of  Ostia, 
established  by  Ancus  Marcius  twenty-live  centuries  ago,  to 
secure  for  the  Romans  the  monopoly,  and  which  were  still 
worked  in  the  same  simple  manner,  by  letting  the  sea-water 
flow  from  one  evaporating  pond  into  another  until  the  brine 
was  ready  to  crystallize,  ought  to  have  been  respected  as  a 
national  historical  monument.  The  high-road  followed  by 
the  Sabines  and,  indirectly,  by  the  Umbrians  and  southern 
Etruscans  to  reach  the  "  Salinae  Ostienses  "  still  bears  the 
name  of  Via  Salaria ;  and  the  name  of  salara  was  attached 
until  lately  to  the  old  warehouses  built  by  King  Ancus  at 
the  foot  of  the  Clivus  Publicius  near  the  Porta  Triofemina. 
Repaired  and  enlarged  from  time  to  time  by  kings  and  con- 
suls, by  emperors  and  popes,  they  were  a  landmark  of  the 
Sub-aventine  district  from  the  year  625  b.  c.  to  the  spring 
of  1888.  The  historical  though  unpretending  edifice  was 
pulled  down  to  connect  the  new  Quartiere  di  Testaccio 
with  the  city  by  a  convenient  thoroughfare.  The  same  fate 
has  befallen  the  old  salt-pans  at  the  mouth  of  the  Tiber. 
Those  on  the  right  bank  were  done  away  with  in  the  six- 
teenth century  ;  those  of  Ostia  in  1871. 

As  regards  the  alum  monopoly,  it  must  be  remembered 
that  this  substance,  so  essential  to  dyers  of  woollen  or  silk 
goods,  could  be  obtained,  previous  to  1158,  only  from  the 
Turkish  mines  of  Rocca ;  hence  the  name  of  "allume  di 
Rocca,"  which  it  still  bears  in  pojjular  language,  and  in  the 
labels  of  certain  old-fashioned  apothecary  shops.  Now  it 
happened  that  an  excellent  naturalist,  Giovanni,  son  of  the 
celebrated  jurisconsult,   Paolo   de  Castro,   who    had   spent 


OS*) 


Anosnxo  ruKu  -ii.  macxifko'' 


manv  years  in  Constantinople  as  an  a«;ent  and  ])roker  for 
eastern  dve-works,  \vas  named  hy  Poi)e  Pius  II  governor  of 
tin'  so-calU'd  ''  Patrimony  of  St.  Peter"  in  the  year  1458; 
.ind  when  \\v  visited  lor  the  lirst  time  the  district  of  La  Tolfa, 
near  ('i\  ita-vcceliia,  lu'  noticed  that  certain  hills  on  the  west 
side  of  tile  village  were  covered  with  a  dense  growth  of  Ilex 
Aquifolium,  the  characteristic  feature  of  the  alum  mines  of 


The  old  channel  connecting-  tlic  Ostia  salt-works  with  the  sea.     The  pme  forest  of 
Castel  Fiisano  in  the  background 

Rocca.  The  coincidence  he  considered  not  altogether  fortui- 
tons.  He  caused  a  shaft  to  be  bored  through  the  rock,  sub- 
mitted the  mineral  to  a  chemical  test,  and  was  able  to 
announce  to  Pius  II  the  news  that  Christian  Europe  was 
to  depend  no  longer  upon  the  infidels  for  such  an  important 
industry,  and  that  the  income  they  used  to  derive  from 
their  mines  of  Rocca  was  henceforth  to  be  transferred  to 
the  Holy  See.  Four  years  after  the  discovery  of  Giovanni 
de  Castro,  the  alum  works  of  La  Tolfa  were  vieldins"  a  net 
revenue  of  ninety  thousand  dollars.    Giovanni  was  honored 


AGOSTINO    CHIGI  '•  IL   MAGXIFICO''  283 

with  a  statue  inscribed  alvminis  inventori,  and  rewarded 
with  a  hfetime  allowance  from  the  income  of  the  mines, 
which,  at  the  time  of  their  farming  by  Agostino  Chigi,  had 
risen  to  one  hundred  thousand  dollars  a  year. 

The  College  of  Cardinals,  considering  the  discovery  of 
Giovanni  in  the  light  of  a  miraculous  gift  of  God,  pledged 
itself  by  oath  to  devote  the  revenue  to  save  Italy  and  Eu- 
rope from  the  invasion  of  the  Turks  ;  hence  the  name  of 
'"'  allume  della  Santa  Crociata  "  (alum  of  the  Holy  Crusade) 
given  to  the  mineral  in  contemporary  documents.  It  was 
shipped  to  all  Mediterranean  ports  from  the  harbor  of 
Porto  Ercole,  the  property  of  which  had  been  granted  to 
Agostino  by  the  republic  of  Siena,  and  for  a  number  of 
years  that  small  sea-town  saw  hundreds  of  vessels  set  sail 
towards  every  point  of  the  compass,  and  come  back  in  due 
time  to  Agostino  laden  with  foreign  merchandise.  Alum 
was  shipped  as  far  as  the  port  of  Antwerp,  where  Agostino's 
agents,  Diego  de  Haro  and  Juan  de  Mil,  resold  it  to  the 
cities  of  the  Hanseatic  League.  The  wholesale  agency  in 
London  was  technically  named  "  Scalo  d'  Inghilterra."  But 
alas  !  the  golden  days  of  the  Tolfa  mine  were  soon  over. 
The  Appiani  of  Piombino,  having  discovered  another  lode 
within  their  own  territory,  entered  into  a  tariff  war,  with 
the  result  that  the  revenues  of  the  Holy  Crusade  fell  from  a 
hundred  to  thirty  thousand  a  year.  Pope  Paul  IV  pledged 
the  mine  to  money-lenders  for  the  sum  of  133,330  scudi, 
issuing  shares  of  one  hundred  scudi  each  at  the  enormous 
interest  of  ten  per  cent.  After  many  other  vicissitudes,  of 
local  more  than  of  historical  interest,  the  "  Republique  Ro- 
maine,"  the  disreputable  daughter  of  General  Bonaparte, 
made  a  present  of  the  Tolfa  mines  to  her  greedy  elder  sister 
the  "Republique  Frangaise,"  which,  needless  to  say,  sold 
them  at  once  to  a  Genoese  firm,  for  600,000  scudi.   Since  the 


discovery  t»t'  the  jinicess  by  which  ahini  can  be  artificially 
jtrodiU'tHl,  tlie  vahie  of  the  Tolf'a  works  lias  nearly  vanished  ; 
vet  a  joiirnev  across  that  picturesque  district,  on  the  road 
from  Civita-vecchia  to  the  Baths  of  Stigliano,  could  not  fail 
to  interest  my  reader,  especially  if  learned  in  mineralogy. 
Tlie  rocUs  about  the  old  quarry  are  said  to  contain  g'old, 
silver,  iron,  lead,  and  copper,  although  in  quantities  too 
small  to  attract  speculation.  The  name  of  Ag-ostino  il 
Magnifico  is  still  remembered  by  the  villagers  as  that  of 
the  founder  of  their  beautiful  church  of  Santa  Maria  della 
JS  ugh  era. 

1  have  just  mentioned  the  raising  of  a  loan  of  133,330 
scudi,  and  the  issuing  of  shares  called  ''  Luoghi  di  Monte 
delle  allumiere  "  at  the  time  of  Pope  Caraffa,  Paul  IV.  As 
the  name  still  survives  in  Rome  in  the  Monte  della  Farma, 
Monte  della  Pieta,  etc.,  and  as  these  institutions  play  a  pre- 
ponderant part  in  the  financial  history  of  the  sixteenth 
century,  I  think  I  owe  the  reader  a  few  words  of  exj)lanation. 

State  securities  or  consols  called  "Luoghi  di  Monte"  were 
issued  for  the  first  time  by  Pope  Clement  YII  in  1533,  to 
help  the  Emperor  Charles  V  in  his  naval  enterjjrise  against 
the  i)irates  of  Tunis.  Before  that  time,  money  was  obtained 
directly  from  bankers  on  the  guarantee  of  a  corresponding 
value  in  jewels  or  gold  or  silver  plate,  which  the  money- 
lender was  authorized  to  keep  in  his  own  safe  until  the  debt 
was  fully  redeemed.  I  have  found  in  the  state  archives^ 
the  account  of  a  transaction  of  this  kind  which  occurred  in 
ir)'21  between  Leo  X  and  the  brothers  Piero  and  Giovanni 
Bini,  Florentine  bankers  in  Rome.  It  appears  that  the  firm, 
having  accommodated  the  Pope  from  time  to  time  with  loans 

^  Volume  II.  I(t9,  jip.  '_'40,  241.  A  copy  of  tlie  same  document  is  to  be  found 
among  tlie  .Stroz/i  papers  at  Florence.  See  Archivio  storico  deW  Arte,  vol.  i,  p. 
271. 


AGOSTINO   CHIGI  '' IL   MAGNIFICO"  285 

to  the  total  of  156,000  ducats  ($195,000),  for  which  no 
special  security  was  given  besides  the  written  acknowledg- 
ment of  the  august  debtor,  claimed  a  more  substantial  safe- 
guard of  their  interests.  The  Pope  granted  it  at  once  in 
the  form  of  a  motuproprio,  dated  September  25,  1521,  and 
containing  the  following  stipulations  :  First,  the  brothers 
Bini  were  authorized  to  sell  to  the  highest  bidder  the  ottices 
of  the  papal  Curia,  as  fast  as  they  became  vacant  through 
the  death  of  their  present  titular.  Secondly,  the  proceeds 
of  the  sale  up  to  the  sum  of  39,000  ducats  ($48,750)  were 
given  to  the  Bini,  the  surplus  to  be  divided  in  equal  shares 
between  them  and  the  Apostolic  Chamber.  Thirdly,  the 
compact  was  to  last  until  the  Bini  had  fully  recovered  their 
capital  of  156,000  ducats  and  the  interest.  Fourthly,  as  a 
token  of  his  good  faith,  the  Pope  entrusted  to  the  firm  the 
safe-keeping  of  the  mitre  of  Paul  II,  the  mitre  and  tiara  of 
Julius  II,  and  the  "  sacred  pontifical  silver  vessels,  includ- 
ing those  used  for  the  celebration  of  divine  service  !  "  (vasa 
argentea,  etiam  ad  sacra  ministranda  deputata). 

These  three  magnificent  specimens  of  the  skill  of  the  gold- 
smiths and  jewellers  of  the  Renaissance  were  usually  kept 
in  the  strong-room  of  the  castle  of  Sant'  Angelo,  which  the 
humanists  of  the  period  called  pedantically  the  *'  Aerarium 
Sanctius  "  in  imitation  of  the  sacred  treasury  of  the  Tem- 
ple of  Saturn,  which  was  never  touched  except  in  case  of 
extreme  peril.  The  description  of  the  triregnum,  or  triple 
tiara  of  Julius  II,  occupies  not  less  than  four  closely  written 
pages  in  the  inventory  of  the  contents  of  that  strong-room 
(May  30,  1572).  This  gorgeous  head-gear  was  studded 
with  39  diamonds,  29  emeralds,  22  sapphires,  69  rubies,  27 
balases,  and  571  pearls,  besides  an  inscription  written  in 
small  diamonds,  and  punctuated  with  small  rubies,  which 
read :  ivlivs  •  ligvr  •  pp  •  n  •  anno  •  vTi. 


•JS(  i 


\';()ST/.\()    Clllfll    '•  IL    MAdXIFICO" 


Tlu'  li(»iisc  ;iii(l  liaiikiiiL;-  jurmiscs  of  tlie  Hiiil,  in  which 
thfsf  ;ill';iirs  took  placf,  were  (K-iuoli^hi'd  in  188S.  They 
stood  :ii  ' Ik'  <  i.nH'i'  of  the  Via  del  Consolato  and  the  Via  dei 


I'lic  coat  of  anus  nt  i  li<'  I  mih.  iiiiiiii'd  hy  I'irriiio  del  Vaga  on  the  ceiling'  of  their 
liankiiij;  |)ifiiiises 

IJaiichi.  near  the  little  church  of  Santa  Maria  della  Con- 
solazione,  a  structure  severe  and  heavy  on  the  outside, 
endosini;',  however,  a  court  and  a  log-g-ia  so  g-raceful  and 
elegant  in  design  that  they  were  conmiojily  attributed  to 
Ivaphael  or  Lorenzetto.  The  hall,  where  the  clerks  and 
cashiers  sat  at  their  counters,  had  a  vaulted  ceiling,  in  the 
centre  of  which  was  one  of  the  most  captivating  compo- 
sitions of  Pierino  del  Vaga,  —  two  Cu})ids  holding  a  round 
frame  of  fruit  and  flowers  with  the  coat  of  arms  of  the  Bini 
in  the  centre.  ( )ther  such  compositions  l)v  the  same  master 
are  still  to  be  seen  in  the  Palazzo  Baldassini,  in  the  Via  delle 
f'ap|»elle.  in  the  chapel  of  the  Crucifix  at  San  Marcello,  and 
in  the  transept  of  the  church  of  the  Trinita  del  Monte  — 
these  last  especially  ])raised  by  Vasaii.  The  materials  of 
the  portico,  drawn,  photographed,  and  nuud)ered  piece  by 
piece  bitorc  their  removal,  are  now  preserved  in  the  garden 
of  the  Municipal  Anticjuarium  at  the  Orto  Botanico,  where 
we  hope  to  be  able  to  set  it  up  again  as  one  of  the  best 
specimens  of  sixteenth  century  domestic  architecture.    Part 


AGOSTINO   CHIGI  '' IL   2IAGNIFIC0''  287 

of  the  coat  of  arms  of  the  Bini,  detached  from  the  ceiling' 
and  transferred  to  canvas,  is  preserved  in  the  Palazzo  de' 
Conservatori. 

To  come  hack  to  state  bonds  or  "  Luoghi  di  Monte  :  " 
the  capital  raised  by  their  founder,  Clement  VII,  was  only 
^200,000,  bearing  an  interest  of  ten  per  cent. ;  but  having 
found  out  how  easy  it  was  to  replenish  the  coffers  of  the 
Holy  See  by  means  of  these  loans,  the  burden  of  which 
could  be  distributed  over  a  long  period  of  years,  Clement 
VII  and  his  immediate  successors  increased  the  public  debt 
to  such  an  extent  that  all  the  revenues  of  the  Pontifical 
States  could  hardly  suffice  for  the  payment  of  interest.  It 
is  said  that  from  the  time  of  Paul  III  to  that  of  Paul  IV, 
that  is,  in  the  short  period  of  twenty  years,  the  Apostolic 
Chamber  had  spent  sixteen  millions  of  dollars  in  subsidizing 
German  princelets  who  had  remained  faithful  to  Rome,  bor- 
rowing the  money  sometimes  at  twelve  and  a  half  per  cent. 

Another  pernicious  effect  of  the  institution  of  the  Luoghi 
di  Monte  was  the  gradual  abandonment  and  depopulation 
of  the  Campagna.  The  Roman  farmers,  whose  average  in- 
come from  tilling  the  soil  did  not  exceed  five  per  cent., 
and  wdiose  very  life  was  in  constant  danger  from  bandits 
and  malaria,  grasped  at  once  the  chance  offered  them  by 
the  consols  of  earning  double  without  risk  or  anxiety.  Ag- 
riculture revived  only  towards  the  end  of  the  eighteenth 
century,  when  the  troubles  with  France  and  the  outrageous 
impositions  of  the  French  invaders  compelled  Pope  Pius  VI 
to  reduce  the  interest  on  the  public  debt  (amounting  to  one 
hundred  and  thirty  millions  of  dollars)  to  three  per  cent. 
In  fact,  for  the  space  of  four  years  no  interest  at  all  was 
paid  on  the  bonds,  and  it  w^as  not  till  March  19,  1801,  that 
the  good  Pope  w^as  able  to  announce  the  resumption  of  pay- 
ments at  the  reduced  rate  of  two  per  cent. 


'JvSv^         .i<;(>sT/y(>  ciiKH  "iL  MA(;xiF/rO" 

\\'lu'ii  AL;()>tiii()  ('liii;!  ()j»«'ii('(l  his  olliccs  in  the  Con- 
trada  »lri  l^aiiclii  at  the  time  <>t'  tlie  Horo'ias,  so  general  and 
so  iTeat  was  tlie  iiiuoiancf  of  tlio  court  and  of  the  ituhlic 
in  finantial  matters,  that  a  skilled  and  daring-  speculator 
like  liini  could  (juickly  gain  control  of  the  market  without 
jieril  or  fear  t)f  conipetition.  Once  only  he  seems  to  have 
run  a  certain  amount  of  risk,  wlien  all  his  small  rivals  joined 
in  a  conspiracy  to  raise  a  panic  among  the  "  correntisti "  ^ 
and  take  Agostino  unawares.  He  himself  addressed  the  ex- 
cited crowd  that  besieged  his  counters,  declaring  himself 
ready  to  meet  their  demands,  whether  they  preferred  to  be 
reind)ursed  in  silver  or  gold,  or  in  any  kind  of  foreign  cur- 
rency which  had  a  legal  value  in  the  Pope's  dominions.  The 
crowd  withdrew  without  cashing  a  single  cheque.  Fabio 
relates  another  episode,  connected  with  the  fair  of  Foligno, 
where  the  best  products  of  central  Italy  in  every  brancli  of 
industry  were  jx-riodically  brought  to  market.  Agostino, 
happening  to  be  present  at  one  of  these  gatherings,  bought 
the  whole  stock,  asking  for  three  days'  grace  to  settle  the 
accounts.  At  the  end  of  the  third  day  every  article  had 
been  resold  at  a  ]iremium,  and  the  heavy  balance  added  to 
the  yearly  profits  of  the  bank.  Historians  have  attempted 
to  give  an  estimate  of  his  wealth,  but  Agostino  himself, 
having  once  been  asked  by  Leo  X,  wdiom  he  was  fond  of 
entertaining  in  his  garden  by  the  Porta  Settimiana,  if  he 
could  state  within  certain  limits  the  amount  of  his  fortune, 
siiid  that  the  number  and  varietv  of  affairs  in  which  he  was 
engaged.  l)oth  in  Europe  and  in  the  East,  made  the  answer 
a  <lifHcult  if  not  an  impossible  one.  He  could  only  say  that 
besides  the  central  house  at  Rome,  he  had  a  hundred  branch 
houses  in  Italy,  and  five  abroad,  at  Constantinople,  Alexan- 
dria, Cairo.  Lyons,  and  London,    One  hundred  vessels  sailed 

^  Holders  of  current  at'coiuits. 


THE   VILLA    OF    AGOSTINO    CHIGIIE 
Known  by  the  nai 


EAR    THE    PORTA    SETTIMIANA 
Df  Farnesina 


AGOSTINO   CHIGI  '' IL   MAGNIFICO"  289 

under  his  flag,  from  the  docks  and  harbor  of  Porto  Ercole; 
and  twenty  thousand  men  were  in  his  pay. 

In  the  inventory  made  by  order  of  Clement  VII  in  1520, 
in  consequence  of  certain  differences  which  had  arisen  be- 
tween Ao'ostino's  sons  and  their  uncle  and  o-uardian  Siffis- 
mondo,  the  following  properties  are  mentioned  :  the  farms 
and  castles  of  Serpentara,  Castel  Giuliano,  Fiorano,  and 
Scorano,  stocked  with  many  thousand  head  of  cattle  ;  the 
cities  of  Porto  Ercole,  Atessa,  Castel  Vacone  ;  the  fishing  of 
the  lake  of  Fucino,  which,  together  with  that  of  Fogliano, 
supplied  the  market  of  Rome  in  the  numberless  fast  days 
of  the  year ;  coined  gold  in  cash,  weighing  four  thousand 
pounds ;  a  yearly  income  of  $87,500,  and  so  much  silver 
plate  and  jewelry  that  it  equalled  in  quantity  that  of  all 
the  Roman  nobility  put  together.  His  bedstead  was  carved 
in  ivory,  encrusted  with  gold  and  studded  with  precious 
stones.  The  fixtures  of  the  bathroom  were  of  solid  silver. 
The  villa  of  Porto  Ercole  contained  so  much  treasure  that 
the  Turks  made  a  special  but  unsuccessful  expedition  to 
gain  possession  of  it  in  1544.  His  city  stables  held  one 
hundred  horses,  including  the  famous  Arabian  thorough- 
bred, of  which  the  Sultan  of  Turkey  had  made  a  present  to 
the  "  s'ran  mercante  di  Christianita." 

Must  we  look  upon  all  these  details  as  a  loud  and  vulgar 
display  of  wealth  ?  Not  in  the  least.  The  details  sink  into 
insignificance  if  we  recall  the  munificent  protection  accorded 
by  Agostino  to  art  and  artists,  and  the  number  of  master- 
pieces the  existence  of  which  is  due  to  him  alone,  and  which 
still  constitute  the  pride  of  Rome. 

He  was  a  born  collector,  Fabio  says,  and  there  was  no 
more  space  left  for  pictures,  statues,  bronzes,  busts,  and 
"  oggetti  di  scavo  "  in  his  various  residences.  Raphael,  Peru- 
gino,  Giovanni  Barrili,  Giulio  Romano,  Giovanni  da  Udine, 


'J!MI  .|/;n.s'77.NV)    ClIKH   ^^  I L    M AGNIFICO" 

il  Fattort',  Loicii/.ctto.  liraiuaiitc,  (iiiolamo  Gen^^a,  Bal- 
(lassaiv  l*t'ru//.i,  St'ljastiaiio  del  Pioinlx),  and  il  Sodoina  were 
all  in  his  euiplov  at  varions  times,  and  have  left  their  names 
written  in  ini|>erishable  letters  in  Ao-ostino's  Farnesina,  in 
lii^  (li.iiu'ls  at  Santa  Mai-ia  della  Pace,  at  Santa  Maria  del 
l'(ij)i»l(),  and  at  S.  Caterina  da  Siena  in  the  Via  Ginlia,  and 
in  his  mansions  at  Rome  and  Siena.  The  ])r()tection  all'orded 
to  these  artists  never  tailed  even  in  the  face  o£  the  ill-will 
of  popes  and  cardinals.  When  Sodoma  came  to  Rome  in 
l.")(lS  on  the  recommendation  of  Ag-ostino's  brother  Sigis- 
iiKimlo  I  tor  whom  he  had  painted  the  front  and  the  main 
hall  of  the  palace  at  Siena),  Agostino  secnred  for  him  at 
once  a  commission  to  paint  certain  rooms  in  the  Vatican, 
above  the  apartment  of  Julins  II.  Whether  the  Pope  took 
a  dislike  to  the  newcomer,  inexperienced  in  conrt  manners, 
or  whether  he  disapproved  of  his  work,  the  fact  is  that  poor 
Sodoma  was  dismissed,  and  the  finishing  or  the  doing  over 
of  his  work  entrusted  to  Raphael.  Agostino  felt  the  offence 
p^ven  to  his  protege  as  a  personal  one,  and  commissioned 
him  at  once  to  paint  his  own  bedroom  in  the  villa  near  the 
Porta  Settimiana.  To  this  little  court  intrigue,  therefore, 
we  owe  the  creation  of  Sodoma's  delightful  master])iece, 
the  Wedding  of  Alexander  and  Roxana,  of  Avhich  I  or"ive  a 
r«']>rodnction. 

The  only  genius  of  the  age  Avith  whom  Agostino  never 
came  in  contact  was  Michelangelo  Buonarroti.  Perhaps  the 
proud  nature  of  the  artist  made  him  loath  to  bend  l)efore 
wealth  ;  perhaps  the  banker  had  recognized  in  the  Floren- 
tine master  the  rival,  if  not  the  enemy,  of  Raphael,  and 
having  openly  espoused  the  cause  of  the  latter,  he  thought  it 
a  wise  ])lan  to  keep  them  apart.  And  yet  when  the  question 
came  of  settling  a  price  for  Raphael's  frescoes  in  the  chapel 
at  Santa  Maria   della   Pace,   who  should  be   named  judge 


W 

<  7     o 
O  H     S 


C 

o  >:: 


o  s 


> 


O     rt 


2  s 


S  >    E 

<  t 
O 


w 


J 


AGOSTINO   CHIGI  '' IL   MAGNIFICO"  293 

(through  the  bhiiider  of  Agostino's  head  cashier,  GiuUo 
Borg-hese)  but  Michelangelo  himself !  I  do  not  know  whether 
he  accepted  the  trust  or  how  the  matter  ended ;  at  all  events, 
the  premature  death  of  the  painter  soon  removed  any  cause 
of  ill-feeling,  if  indeed  any  had  ever  existed  between  the 
two. 

I  wonder  whether  the  story  of  the  "  visiting  card  "  left 
by  Michelangelo  at  La  Farnesina  is  genuine,  or  whether  it 
must  be  considered  a  new  and  revised  version  of  the  tale 
about  Apelles  at  the  studio  of  Praxiteles.  At  all  events,  the 
colossal  head  of  Alexander  the  Great  (?),  sketched  in  char- 
coal by  Michelangelo  in  the  very  room  in  which  Raphael 
was  painting  the  beautiful  Galatea,  was  meant  as  a  me- 
morial to  Daniele  da  Volterra,  who  in  conjunction  with 
Sebastiano  del  Piombo  was  painting  at  that  time  the  lunettes 
of  the  same  room.  A  comparative  glance  at  the  Galatea 
and  at  the  charcoal  head  impresses  us  more  as  an  object 
lesson  on  the  difference  of  manner  and  style  and  feeling 
of  the  two  great  masters  and  rivals,  than  the  hundreds  of 
pages  written  on  the  same  subject  by  their  respective  bio- 
graphers. 

Ao'ostino's  characteristic  in  connection  with  art  was  ori- 
ginality  of  conception.  He  gave  the  inspiring  note ;  the 
artists  adapted  themselves  to  it  to  the  best  of  their  ability. 
The  following  instance  shows  how  far  he  dared  to  go  in  the 
field  of  originality.  It  was  customary  in  those  days  for  the 
newly  elected  Pope  to  ride  in  state  from  the  Vatican  to 
the  Lateran  to  take  possession  of  the  episcopal  chair  in  that 
cathedral,  ''  omnium  ecclesiarum  urbis  et  orbis  mater  et 
caput ;  "  it  was  customary  also  for  the  City  Council,  for  the 
magistrates  of  each  ward  or  rione  crossed  by  the  cavalcade, 
for  ambassadors,  noblemen,  corporations,  etc.,  residing  along 
the  "  Strada  Papale,"  to  make  a  festive  display  of  loyalty, 


•JIM  A(iOSTlM)    CllIGl   -  IL    MAaSlFlCO" 

liv  cn-ctinn'  staiuls,  canopies, altars, aiul  even  triumphal  arches 
at  till'  entrance  to  each  ward  or  in  front  ot"  their  respective 
residences.  On  the  occasion  of  the  "  Solenne  Possesso  "  of 
L»'o  X,  announced  for  the  niornnig"  of  April  11,  1513,  Agos- 
tino  reinend)ered  that  ojjposite  his  premises,  spanning  the 
street  between  them  and  the  church  of  San  Celso,  had  stood 
oiu'  of  the  triumphal  arches  of  old  Rome,  erected  in  )>80, 
in  honoi'  of  (hatian,  Valentinian,  and  Theodosius,  as  a 
suitalilc  entrance  to  the  Porticus  Maximae,  a  covered  way  or 
colonnade  which  led  from  the  Aelian  Bridge  to  the  southern 
gates  of  the  city.  It  did  not  require  great  imagination  on 
his  })art  to  restore  the  broken  arch  for  the  triumphal  })ro- 
gress  of  his  beloved  Pope;  but  his  originality  manifested 
itself  in  the  use  of  figures  and  groups  of  live  men,  women, 
and  children,  the  fairest  subjects  to  be  found  within  the 
walls  of  Rome,  in  place  of  marble  statues.  The  Pope  rode 
the  same  white  Arab  horse  with  which  he  had  been  made 
a  prisoner  at  the  battle  of  Ravenna;  so  dear  to  him  that  a 
special  staff  of  servants  was  detailed  to  attend  to  its  wants 
and  make  life  pleasant  for  it,  until  it  died  of  sheer  old  age. 
I  wonder  what  the  thoughts  of  Leo,  as  a  priest  and  as  the 
head  of  the  church,  must  have  been  in  beholding  the  arch, 
on  the  frieze  of  which  the  following  audacious  distich  had 
been  engraved  in  letters  of  gold:  — 

ol.IM  •  H  Ain  IT  •  CVPIUS  •  SVA  '  TEMPORA  *  TEMPORA  '  MAVORS 
OMM  •  1 1. MUTT  •  SVA  •  NVNC  '  TEMPORA  *  PALLAS  "  HABET 

which,  freely  paraphrased,  means:  "Venus,  the  goddess  of 
l)leasure,  had  her  sway  under  Alexander  VI  ;  Mars,  the  god 
of  war,  prevailed  under  Julius  II ;  with  thy  advent,  0  Leo, 
the  reign  of  the  goddess  of  wisdom  has  begun."  The  live 
statues  wore  the  attributes  —  and  very  little  else  —  of  Apollo, 
Mercury,  and  Pallas.     There  were  also   two   nymphs,  sur- 


AGOSTINO   CHIGI  '' IL   3IAGXIFIC0"  295 

rounded  by  negro  boys,  one  of  whom  "  con  audace  faccia 
recito  aleuni  versi,"  that  is,  had  the  courage  to  recite  some 
verses  while  the  Pope  was  riding-  through  the  arch. 

As  regards  the  personal  appearance  of  Agostino,  the  best 
likeness  known  to  me  is  to  be  found  in  a  medallion  for- 
merly in  the  collection  of  Cardinal  Pietro  Ottoboni,  from 
which  it  was  transferred  to  that  of  Girolamo  Odam.  I  do 
not  know  where  the  original  is  at  present  ;  but  there  is  an 
excellent  reproduction  of  it  in  Pier  Leone  Ghezzi's  volume 
of  original  drawings,  preserved  in  the  office  of  the  curator 
of  antiques  in  the  British  Museum. 

The  reason  Avhy  Agostino  could  secure  at  once  a  promi- 
nent place  in  patrician  circles,  and  see  his  family  inscribed 
in  the  Libro  d'  Oro  long  before  his  death,  is  to  be  found 
in  the  fact  of  his  great  wealth  rather  than  in  that  of  the 
ancient  lineage  of  his  race.  A  golden  key  has  always  had 
the  power  of  opening  the  most  obstinate  doors  of  a  Roman 
palace. 

From  the  point  of  view  of  origin  or  descent,  our  patrician 
families  form  three  classes  :  those  the  history  of  which  goes 
back  at  least  to  the  Byzantine  period,  as  in  the  case  of  the 
Frangipane,  the  Massimi,  and  perhaps  the  Cenci,  or  to  the 
middle  ages,  as  in  the  case  of  the  Colonna,  Conti,  Orsini, 
Caetani,  Vitelleschi,  Savelli,  Delia  Valle,  Doria,  etc. ;  those 
which  have  obtained  princely  or  ducal  titles  through  their 
respective  popes,  like  the  Boncompagni,  Ludovisi,  Peretti, 
Borghese,  Barberini,  Rospigliosi,  Altieri,  etc. ;  and  lastly 
those  which  had  acquired  wealth,  power,  and  title  long  be- 
fore one  of  their  number  had  been  raised  to  the  pontificate. 
It  is  needless  to  say  that  all  our  sympathies  are  with  this  last 
class  of  active,  straightforward,  snccessful  citizens,  sprung 
mostly  from  the  Contrada  dei  Banchi,  who  devoted  their 
newly  made  fortunes  to  the  protection  of  art  and  artists,  to 


•_".M>  .l>,i)ST/.\(>    CIIKH    -  IL    MACMFICO" 

tlu'  liiiildiiii;-  of  palaci's  and  villas,  to  tlie  oatlieriiio^  of  pic- 
tures and  mail  lies,  to  the  exploration  of  ancient  ruins,  to 
the  erection  of  (■lia])els,  cluirches,  monasteries,  and  charitable 
institutions,  tlironi;h  which  thin<;s  tiirir  names  will  live 
and  he  honored  forever.  I  do  not  deny  that  as  soon  as 
these  fortunate  financiers  were  duly  inscribed  in  the  Libro 
d'  Oro  of  the  Roman  Patriciate,  flatterers  and  courtiers  de- 
vised ima<;inary  pediorees,  of  which  the  volumes  of  Giovanni 
Hattista  Fentei  "  de  prisca  Caesiorum  gente "  and  Carlo 
Strozzi  ••  discendenza  della  Casa  Barberina  "  fear  no  rivals 
for  im])udence  and  fertility  of  imagination.  And  even  at 
the  i>resent  day  we  find  in  fashionable  almanacs  hints  at 
fabulous  i>"enealogies,  in  flagrant  contrast  with  common 
sense,  as  if  the  living  generations  were  ashamed  to  trace 
among  their  ancestors  one  of  the  honest  speculators  of 
the  Contrada  dei  Banchi.  A  stranger,  how^ever,  wandering 
throuiih  its  main  arteries  and  side  lanes,  from  the  Aelian 
Bridge  to  the  Mint,'  and  from  the  "  Immagine  di  Ponte  " 
to  the  National  Church  of  the  Florentines,  would  have  read 
on  the  brass  plates  the  very  best  and  most  honorable  names 
of  Italy  and  Europe.  Genoa  was  represented  by  the  Palla- 
vicini.  Spinola,Gavotti,  Negroni,  Centurioni,  and  Cavalcanti; 
Conio  bv  the  Odescalchi,  Rezzonico,  and  Olgiate ;  Florence 
by  the  Ivuccellai,  Strozzi,  Altoviti,  Piccolomini,  Pandolfini, 
Capponi,  Monteauto,  Gaddi,  Bardi,  Bandini,  Ubaldini,  and 
Boccacci  ;  Germany  by  the  Fugger,  Furtembach,  Engelhard, 
and  Adler  ;  Spain  by  the  Fonseca,  Nunez,  Cortez,  Blaves ; 
the  Low  Countries  by  Rumbhold  Stellart  ;  England  by 
William  Perin.  The  career  of  these  "  mercanti  in  Corte  di 
Roma "  was  generally    the    same.     Provided   with   a  little 

'  Tliis  liistorical  edifice,  designed  by  Antonio  da  Sangallo  the  younger,  is 
still  in  existence  (although  devoted  to  other  purposes)  at  the  corner  of  the  Vie 
de'  Banchi  Vecchi  and  de'  Banchi  Nuovi. 


AGOSTIXO   CiriGI  '' IL   MAGiYIFICO" 


297 


capital  (,^2250  in  the  case  of  Agostiiio  Cliigi),  and  with 
letters  of  introduction  to  prelates  of  the  papal  court,  they 
would  open  a  counter  for  a  special  quality  of  goods  of 
foreign  make,  —  tapestries,  brocades,  silks,  caps,  stockings, 


The  entrance  to  the  Chig-i  chapel  in  the  church  of  Santa  Maria  del 
Popolo,  with  the  tomb  of  the  princess  Mary  Flaminia  (t  1771) 
by  Paolo  Poji 


gloves,  feathers,  playing  cards,  perfumes,  furs,  musical  in- 
struments, ribbons,  and  the  like.  These  shops  were  known 
by  the  name  of  "  Calcettarie  "  or  "  Berrettarie,"  although 


stockintrs  and  tVatliered  caits  t'oinied  hut  one  item  of  tlieir 
stock.  No  sooner  liad  tliese  newcomers  realized  a  certain 
jirotii  tlian  tlic\  would  secure,  tlirouoh  their  friends  at  court, 
the  collcclorslii])  of  tolls  at  one  of  the  gates  of  the  city,  or 
at  one  of  the  landiii<;s  of  the  Tiher.  The  third  step  was 
to  ohtain  the  administration  of  the  Gahella  della  Carne, 
dello  Studio,  del  Vino,  etc.  ;  the  hist  was  to  build  a  house,  a 
palace,  a  villa,  and  a  chapel,  and  decorate  them  with  a  i)ro- 
fusion  of  ancient  and  modern  works  of  art.  One  instance 
shall  answer  for  all. 

The  lirm  of  Odescalchi  &  Co.  is  mentioned  for  the  first 
time  in  l.")20,  a})ropos  of  certain  business  transacted  and  of 
a  legal  paper  signed  "in  calcettaria  d.  Bernardini  de  Ode- 
scalchis  et  sociorum."  Bernardino  and  his  associate  Rezzo- 
nico,  men  of  ancient  lineage  and  good  social  standing  in 
their  native  country,  had  just  left  the  shores  of  the  lake  of 
Como  and  set  u])  a  counter  for  silks,  tapestries,  and  velvets 
on  the  ground  iloor  of  the  house  of  Michele  Lante,  at  the 
corner  of  the  Via  del  Pellegrino  and  the  Piazza  di  Campo 
de'  Fiori.  The  house,  which  still  exists,  slightly  modern- 
ized, was  known  in  the  seventeenth  century  as  the  "  Casa  di 
Matthia  Corviiio."  from  a  painting  which  represented  that 
valiant  king  of  Hungary  (14:58-1490)  defeating  the  Infi- 
dels, under  the  shape  of  the  Devil.'  Here  the  firm  prospered 
and  was  joined  in  due  course  of  time  by  other  Odescalchi, 
(iiovannantonio,  Giovanbattista,  and  Francesco.  In  15G)3 
the  house  liad  come  under  the  manasfement  of  "Tommaso  e 
Girolamo  Odescalchi  e  Compagni,"  whose  special  business  is 
described  in  the  official  ledger  as  follows  :  "  To  imjiort  from 
foreign  manufacturers  the  cloth  called  stametta.  and  retail  it 
in  Rome,  together  with  other  articles."    The  merit  of  having 

'   A  I'dpy  (if  this  curious  fresco  is  preserved  in  Codex  xlix,  39  of  the  Barberini 
section  of  tlie  Vatican  lihrary. 


AGOSTINO    CHIGI  '' IL   MAGNIFICO''  299 

given  the  family  a  place  in  Roman  society  belongs  to  Paolo, 
a  prelate  of  great  distinction,  bishop  of  Penne  and   Atri, 
auditor  of  the  Apostolic  Chamber,  private  secretary  to  Pope 
Paul  IV,  and  the  moving  spirit  of  the  league  against  the 
Turks  which  led  to  the  victory  of  Lepanto.     And  to  what 
use  did  the  young  and  successful  prelate  put  the  fortune 
acquired  by  himself  in  the  service  of  the  Holy  See,  and  by 
his  kinsmen  in  the  "  calcettaria  "  at  the  corner  of  the  Via 
del  Pellegrino  and  the  Campo  de'  Fiori  ?    In   1561  I  find 
him  already  in  possession  of  one  of  the  most  beautiful  gar- 
dens of   the  city,  in  that  section   of  the  Janiculum  which 
was  occupied  in  ancient  times  by  the  "  Horti  Getae,"  and 
in  more  recent  times  by  the  Villa  Corsini.    In  1565  he  pur- 
chased from  the  Marchese  Alberico  Cibo-Malaspina,  prince 
of  Massa,  another  garden  lavishly  decorated  with  ancient  stat- 
ues and  busts,  which  occupied  the  part  of  the  present  villa 
Borghese  nearest  to  the  Pincian  hill.     But  the  foundations 
for  a  museum  intended  to  place  the  family  on  a  level  with 
other  patrician  collectors  were  laid  only  in  February,  1572, 
with  the   purchase   of  the  valuable  collection  of  statuary 
formed  by  Giuseppe  della  Porta,  and  kept  by  Giuseppe's 
son  and  heir,  Rodolfo,  in  a  storeroom  adjoining  the  Odes- 
calclii  premises  in  the  Via  del  Pellegrino.    The  collection  is 
described  as  containing  "  marble   statues  perfect   or  in  a 
fragmentary  state,  busts,  heads,  hermae,  and  other  antiqui- 
ties," besides  "  a  modern,  perfect,  life-sized  Venus  leaning 
on  a  vase,"  which  must  have  been  modelled  by  Delia  Porta 
himself.    Paolo  Odescalchi's  successors  and  heirs  took  such 
good  care  of  this  collection  and  endeavored  to  improve  and 
enlarge  it  in  so  liberal  a  Avay  that,  at  the  extinction  of  the 
family   in    1713,  that  is  to  say,  after  the  purchase  of  the 
museum  of  Christine,  queen   of  Sweden,  it  could  scarcely 
find  proper  room   in  the  magnificent  palace  of  the   Piazza 


;i(K>  AfioSTIXo   CHIC  I   -/A    MAGNIFICO" 

(Iri  Saiiti  A|Htstt)li.  M\  own  L-opy  of  the  inventory,  made 
l.v  ;i  public  notary  on  Novi"n»l)L'r  !>,  1713.  comprises  eighteen 
i-lo.M'lv  written  foho  slieets,  not  to  mention  the  large  vol- 
ume puMi>lictl  in  17.")]  l)v  Nicola  Galeotti  under  the  title  of 
"Description  of  the  Aiiti(pie  Gems  formerly  in  the  Possession 
(it  (,)u(Mii  Christine,  and  now  preserved  in  the  Odescalchi 
Mu>euni."'  Alas!  the  death  of  the  last  male  descendant  of 
Bernardino  ( Livio  I,  ne}>he\v  of  Pope  Innocent  XI),  which 
took  j)lace  in  the  niglit  hetween  Septemher  7  and  8,  1713, 
signed,  as  it  wt're,  the  death  warrant  of  the  collection.  The 
title  and  the  possessions  of  the  family  passed  into  the  hands 
of  Livio's  ne[)hew.  Baldassare  Erba  of  Milan,  and  the  new 
branch  sold  all  the  antiques  to  King  Philip  V  of  Spain, 
in  exehauge  for  the  modest  sum  of  twenty-five  thousand 
doubloons  (about  ^75,000). 

One  of  the  great  drawbacks  in  commercial  enterprises, 
and  at  the  same  time  one  of  the  great  advantages  to  bankers, 
was  the  variety  of  coins  having  legal  value  in  Rome,  or 
tolerated  there.  Monetary  transactions  were  carried  on  pro- 
miscuouslv  in  llorins.  ducats,  scudi,  testoni,  corone,  crazie, 
moia])esini,  carlini,  giulii,  etc.,  the  exchange  for  which 
varied  in  different  cities.  This  state  of  things  -was  but  nat- 
ural in  Rome,  the  lazy  indigent,  to  the  support  of  which 
the  whole  world  was  wont  to  contribute.  The  yearly  re- 
cei|its  of  the  Dateria  Apostoliea  alone  (for  collation  of 
ecclesiastical  l)eneHces,  and  for  matrimonial  dispensations) 
amounted  to  ,^350,000,  not  to  s])eak  of  the  contributions 
for  the  jubilees,  which  may  be  valued  at  two  millions  for 
each  jicriod  of  twenty-five  years.  These  oblations,  the 
Peter's  pence  included,  came  from  every  corner  of  the 
earth  ;  hence  the  necessity  for  the  dwellers  in  the  Con- 
trada  dei  Banchi  to  keep  themselves  acquainted  with  their 
respective  values,  and  with  the  fluctuations  of  the  interna- 


AGOSTINO    CHIGI  '' IL   MAGNIFICO''  301 

tional  and  iiiterprovincial  iiiaikets.  The  following  curious 
episode  of  the  sack  of  1527  illustrates  my  point  :  — 

There  was  in  the  city,  in  the  Contrada  di  San  Martinello 
near  the  present  Monte  della  Pieta,  a  shop  belonging  to 
Pirovano  «&  Bosio,  a  prosperous  firni  of  linen  drapers  from 
Milan,  who,  on  hearing  of  the  approach  of  the  Constable  of 
Bourbon's  army,  and  of  the  probable  plunder  of  the  city, 
hastened  to  conceal,  wall  up,  or  bury  in  various  holes  and 
hiding-places  the  contents  of  their  safe.  Strange  to  say, 
the  old-fashioned  stratagem  succeeded  beyond  their  expec- 
tations. Rome  was  stormed  on  the  morning  of  May  G,  1537, 
and  for  eight  days  made  to  suffer  horrors  which  no  pen 
can  describe. 

One  of  the  partners,  Pirovano,  died  of  the  plague  before 
the  retreat  of  the  Lansquenets  ;  Bosio,  the  survivor,  caused 
the  hiding-places  to  be  searched  in  the  presence  of  a  notary, 
and  thev  were  found  to  contain  the  following  varieties  of 
coins :  1181  Roman  gold  ducats,  21  Turkish,  96  of  Miran- 
dola,  393  of  the  Camera,  3  scudi  del  sole,  6000  giulii,  and 
1400  oTossi. 

The  Farnesina  has  become  famous  in  popular  tradition 
more  from  the  three  Lucullean  feasts  offered  within  its  pre- 
cincts to  Leo  X  than  for  the  priceless  art  treasures  it  con- 
tained. The  splendor  and  originality  of  these  banquets  has 
remained  unequalled  even  in  our  days  of  money  kings  and 
railwav  mag-nates.  The  first  of  the  three  was  given  in  an 
ontbuilding  intended  for  the  stabling  of  horses  and  for  the 
housing  of  coaches.  Raphael  himself  had  furnished  the 
design  for  it,  and  its  remains  can  be  seen  at  the  present  day 
facing  the  Corsini  palace,  at  the  north  end  of  the  gardens, 
near  the  church  of  San  Giacomo  in  Settimiana.  The  unfin- 
ished state  of   the  building  had  been  so  skilfully  concealed 


liv  iiuMiis  (tt"  Flciiii^li  tajx'stries,  oriental  carpets,  and  cui)- 
lioartls  lillrd  with  _i;<)l(l  plate  worths  the  ransom  of  u  king", 
that  Li'o  X  on  hehohlinL;-  the  si»>ht  said  to  Agostiiio  that  in 
tlie  lace  of  such  n»ai;niliceiice  he  ahuost  re<;-retted  the  <^<)od 
old  davs  of  intiniacy  and  familiarity,  when  he  and  Agostino 
sat  at  informal  meals,  unfettered  by  court  etiquette;  to  which 
gentle  sjtccch  Agostino  replied  that  just  on  account  of  these 
recollections  of  former  davs  he  was  daring  to  receive  liis 
Holiness  in  a  manger,  and  lifting  the  nearest  piece  of 
tai)estrv,  he  showed  his  guest  the  boxes  and  stalls  which  lay 
concealed  behind.  The  building  was  demolished  or  rather 
reduced  to  its  present  state  at  the  beginning  of  the  nine- 
teenth century. 

A  few  months  later  the  second  convivial  gathering  was 
held  in  the  loggia  or  coffee-house,  projecting  on  the  Tiber 
at  the  south  end  of  the  garden,  near  the  spot  at  which  the 
mausoleum  of  Sulpicius  Platorinus  was  discovered  in  1880.^ 
Sigismondo  Tizio,  the  Sienese  historian,  who  was  present  on 
the  occasion,  says  that  the  ])rice  of  tliree  fish  alone  amounted 
to  two  hundred  and  fifty  crowns ;  and  that,  to  prove  to  the 
guests  that  the  same  silver  plate  was  not  used  twice  in  the 
course  of  the  meal,  the  dishes  were  thrown  into  the  Tiber, 
where  they  fell  into  nets  spread  below  the  surface  of  the 
water.    The  loggia  was  demolished  in  1883. 

The  third  dinner,  given  in  the  main  hall  of  the  Casino  on 
the  28th  of  August,  1519,  on  the  feast  day  of  Sant'  Agos- 
tiiio. presented  two  original  features.  In  the  first  place  each 
of  the  twenty  cardinals  or  foreign  representatives  was  served 
on  silver  and  gold  plate  bearing  his  particular  coat  of  arms, 
crest,  and  motto,  with  such  accuracy  on  the  part  of  the 
butlers  that  not  one  single  mistake  occurred  in  the  course 
of  the  meal.    In  the  second  place  each  guest  was  served  with 

*  See  Pagan  and  Christian  Rome,  p.  265. 


A  G  OS  TIN  0   CHIGI  '' IL   MAGNIFICO''  303 

fish,  g'ume,  fruit,  vegetables,  delicacies,  and  wines  peculiar 
to  his  own  country.  These  supplies  had  been  brought  to 
Rome  by  messengers  timed  to  arrive  simultaneously  from 
the  four  corners  of  the  earth,  on  the  eve  of  the  banquet. 

Agostino,  always  on  the  alert  to  win  the  favor  of  the 
great,  had  been  particularly  attentive  to  Federico  Conzaga, 
since  his  first  arrival  at  the  court  of  Julius  II,  entertaining 
him  and  his  tutors  in  the  "  palazzotto  non  anchor  finito  et 
molto  richo  di  adornamenti,"  as  the  villa  is  described  in 
one  of  the  letters  to  Isabella.  The  banker  had  begun  corre- 
sponding with  the  house  of  Mantua  in  1508,  when  he  is 
known  to  have  offered  to  Federico's  mother  an  intaglio 
representing  the  head  of  a  goddess,  which  she  declares  in 
her  letter  of  thanks  "havemo  posto  nelle  delicie  nostre." 
Federico  was  even  asked  to  visit  the  alum  works  at  La 
Tolfa,  which  he  did  in  December,  1511,  in  company  with 
Cardinal  Petrucci ;  and  as  the  season  for  shooting  game  was 
then  at  its  height,  even  his  valets  and  outriders  were  served 
with  wild  boar,  deer,  and  partridges,  and  the  pick  of  the 
fish  ponds  of  Corneto.  Historians,  however,  suspect  that 
these  acts  of  kindness  may  have  been  suggested  to  Agostino 
by  innate  generosity  as  well  as  by  personal  interest,  consid- 
erinof  that  the  banker  was  at  that  time  seeking^  the  hand 
of  Margherita,  a  natural  daughter  of  the  Marchese  Fran- 
cesco of  Mantua.  The  marriasre  fell  throuoh  on  account  of 
the  objection  of  the  girl  to  link  her  fate  to  a  much  older 
man  —  Agostino  had  reached  his  forty-fifth  year — and 
her  place  was  taken  by  Francesca  Andreozza,  as  we  shall 
presently  see. 

Federico's  behavior  on  these  occasions  was  that  of  a  young 
man  in  advance  of  his  age,  as  far  as  pleasantness  and  dignity 
of  manners  w^ere  concerned.  On  the  eve  of  his  departure 
from  Mantua,  Isabella  had  loaded  the  boy  with  holy  relics,  to 


iiisuiv  liiiii  against  \\\v  (lai)<;eis  of  a  ride  tlir()Ui;-h  inountains, 
t'<»r«'>ts,  and  fords;  ainoiin-  tlu'se  relics  mention  is  made  of  a 
*•  liracelt't  with  tlie  (M)^]lt•l  of  St.  John,  to  wliicli  t;rave  and 
w  i>c  persons  attach  innch  \  irtne."  She  ought  to  have  insured 
him  also  ai;ainst  otlier  daubers,  arising-  from  the  low  condition 
of  |»uhlic  and  j)rivate  morality  in  Rome,  —  dangers  which 
the  hov's  tutors,  Gadio  and  Grossino,  seemed  to  take  pride 
in  chaUengini;-  with  their  charge  on  every  possihle  occasion. 
The  a]t|)reciation  of  right  and  wrong  must  have  been  very 
uncertain  indeed  in  the  iirst  quarter  of  that  century,  if  we 
mav  judge  from  the  delight  taken  by  Gadio  and  Grossino 
in  informing  the  marchesa  of  every  dangerous  step  which 
they  had  induced  her  son  to  take;  and  from  the  satisfaction 
which  she  manifests  on  hearing  the  news.  On  January  19, 
l.irj,  Federico  was  taken  to  the  church  of  St.  Sebastian 
outside  the  Walls  to  see  "an  extraordinary  number  of  cour- 
tesans riding  in  male  attire,  and  filling  the  church  during 
the  service  hours." 

In  a  letter  dated  December  18,  1512,  Gadio  relates  to 
the  marchesa  how  he  had  taken  the  boy  to  the  Aracueli  to 
witness  the  tearing  of  the  limbs  (squartamento)  of  a  priest 
convicted  of  several  murders.  The  most  surprising  testi- 
mony in  connection  with  the  customs  of  the  period  is  sup- 
plied by  another  letter,  addressed  to  Federico's  father  on 
January  11,  1513  :  "On  the  day  of  the  Epi})hany  Master 
Federico  was  invited  by  the  cardinal  of  Arborea  to  witness 
a  theatrical  performance  in  his  palace.  It  took  place  after 
su})per  in  the  main  hall,  where  his  Eminence  sat  between 
the  Spanish  ambassador  and  Federico,  while  the  front  rows 
were  occupied  by  several  Spanish  bishops  and  prelates,  and 
by  the  leading  Spanish  courtesans  in  Rome.  The  piece, 
written  in  Castilian  by  Juan  cle  Lenzina,  proved  a  failure. 
.  .   .  On  the  following  Sunday  Federico  was  entertained  at 


AGOSTINO   CHIGI  '- IL   MAGNIFICO"  305 

supper  by  his  uncle,  Cardinal  Conzaga,  in  company  with  Car- 
dinals Aragona,  Pauli,  Cornaro,  and  the  bishops  of  Salerno, 
Tricarico,  and  Spalatro,  while  the  jester,  Frate  Mariano,  and 
Madonna  Albina,  the  courtesan,  were  asked  to  keep  the 
company  in  good  humor."  I  will  not  follow  the  marchesa's 
correspondent  into  the  description  of  further  details;  they 
are  so  crude  that  Gadio  himself  feels  the  necessity  of  miti- 
gating some  particulars  in  a  later  letter  addressed  to  the 
mother.  At  all  events,  w^e  cannot  help  wondering  at  the  fact 
that  a  boy  only  twelve  years  of  age  should  be  compelled  to 
witness  scenes  worthy  Trimalchio's  supper  under  the  roof 
of  his  own  uncle,  the  cardinal  of  Mantua.  No  wonder  that 
Avhen,  after  three  years  of  compulsory  sojourn  in  Rome, 
Federico,  delivered  from  his  bonds  by  the  death  of  Julius  II, 
hastened  back  to  his  beloved  mother,  he  should  have  been 
acknowledged  as  a  model  of  courtesy,  good  manners,  chiv- 
alry, artistic  taste,  and  precocious  licentiousness ;  that  he 
should  have  been  possessed,  in  short,  of  all  the  virtues  and 
the  failures  by  which  his  splendid  rule  has  been  marked  in 
history. 

The  beautiful  villa  in  which  these  events  took  place  was 
not  destined  to  remain  long  in  the  possession  of  the  Chigi. 
A  powerful  neighbor  and  rival,  Cardinal  Alessandro  Far- 
nese,  the  future  Pope  Paul  III,  had  set  foot  on  the  same 
bank  of  the  Tiber,  and  bought  property  in  the  same  neigh- 
borhood of  the  Porta  Settimiana,  eighteen  years  before  the 
banker  from  Siena  had  laid  the  foundations  of  his  own  villa. 
With  the  purchase  of  the  garden  of  Mario  Cuccini  by  the 
banker,  and  of  that  of  Agostino  Maffei  by  the  cardinal, 
they  had  become  neighbors ;  and  as  both  were  striving  for 
the  same  goal,  namely,  the  accumulation  of  wealth  as  a 
means  of  gathering  art  treasures,  of  protecting  art  and 
artists,  and  of   leavino'  their  names  connected  wath  monu- 


:'.<'<;  A(;()SJ/.\(f    CIIKU   -'TL    MAGXIFICO" 

iiu'iital  l)iiil(lini;-s,  it  soon  hec.inie  fvidciit  tliat  eventually 
oiu'  «)t"  tlu'  two  would  1)0  left  alone  in  the  Held. 

The  eleetioii  ol  Alessandio  Farnese  to  the  pontificate 
(  i;i  ( )(tol)('r,  1,").')  I  )  and  the  shameful  behavior  of  Agostino's 
eldest  son  .iiid  iicir,  Lorenzo,  soon  brought  matters  to  a 
climax  —  the  old  contrast  1)et\veen  a  hard-working,  money- 
saving,  honest,  generous  father  and  a  dissipated  son.  Lo- 
renzo and  his  brother  and  sisters,  Alexander,  Margherita, 
and  Canulla,  had  not  been  horn  in  wedlock.  Agostino's 
legit iinatf  wife,  Margherita  Saracina,  died  childless  in  1508. 
Three  years  later,  while  a  guest  of  the  Serenissima  in  Ven- 
ice, he  fell  j)assionately  in  love  and  ran  away  with  a  beau- 
tiful girl,  Francesca  Andreozza,  whom  he  did  not  marry 
until  the  -!8th  day  of  August,  1519,  that  is  to  say,  only 
eight  months  before  his  death,  the  marriage  ceremony  being 
]>erformed  by  the  Pope  in  person.  Of  this  beautiful  woman 
there  was  but  one  memorial  in  Rome,  a  tablet  bearing  her 
name  "  Francisca  Chisia,"  seen  by  Galletti  in  the  church  of 
San  Pietro  in  Montorio,  and  now  lost.'  She  survived  Aa-os- 
tiuo  hardly  seven  months,  and  the  fact  that  the  children  were 
thus  left  to  the  mercy  of  outsiders  may  account  for  their 
subsefpient  l)ehavior.  Suffice  it  to  say  that  Lorenzo,  who 
had  already  been  put  under  the  guardianship  of  Andrea 
Bellanti  and  Filippo  Sergardi,  was  publicly  proclaimed 
•'  ])rodigo  e  furioso,"  prodigal  and  a  maniac  (November  29, 
1.).)*^),  and  the  administration  of  whatever  could  be  saved 
from  the  creditors  was  taken  away  from  him. 

The  villa  in  the  mean  time  had  been  sublet  to  various 
l)ersonages,  among  them  Alfonso  Piccolomini  d'  Aragona, 
duke  of  Amalfi  (September,  1549),  for  the  yearly  rental  of 
four  hundred  dollars. 

The  transfer  of  the  much  coveted  property  to  the  Farnese 

>  See  Forcella,  Iscrizioni  delle  chiese  di  Roma,  vol.  v,  p.  258,  n.  720. 


AGOSTiyO   CHIGI  ^' IL   MAGXIFICO"  307 

was  made  at  last  on  July  6,  1579,  under  the  following-  cir- 
cumstances :  The  "  prodigo  e  furioso  "  Lorenzo  having'  come 
to  an  early  death,  the  estate,  overburdened  with  liabilities, 
was  divided  into  so  many  portions  among  direct  and  col- 
lateral heirs,  that  nothing  ^vas  left  of  the  original  entail  save 
the  villa  by  the  Porta  Settimiana.  And  yet  out  of  respect 
to  the  memory  of  the  founder  of  the  family,  none  of  the 
disappointed  heirs  thought  of  parting  with  the  property, 
unproductive  though  it  w^as.  However,  the  secret  agents  of 
Cardinal  Alessandro,  the  powerful  multi-millionaire  nephew 
of  Paul  III,  succeeded  ultimately  in  winning  to  their  side 
one  or  two  heirs,  and  on  their  application  to  the  "Tribunale 
dei  Nobili "  the  villa  was  put  up  at  auction  on  December 
14, 1577,  and  knocked  down  to  the  cardinal  at  the  ridiculous 
price  of  ten  thousand  five  hundred  dollars.  The  other  Chigi, 
who  were  not  in  the  conspiracy,  at  once  brought  an  action 
before  the  Capitoline  court  to  nullify  the  contract ;  but  after 
many  years  of  legal  contest  the  cardinal  put  an  end  to  the 
case  by  extorting  from  the  old  pontiff,  Gregory  XIII,  a  brief 
in  his  favor.  And  I  am  sorry  to  say  that  public  opinion  in 
a  certain  way  sanctioned  this  conclusion  of  the  affair,  and 
that  the  name  of  Farnes'ina  has  entirely  cast  into  oblivion 
that  of  Chlgiana,  by  which  the  villa  was  known  before  the 
transfer. 

On  the  death  of  Elisabetta,  wife  of  King  Philip  V  of 
Spain,  mother  of  Charles  III,  king  of  the  Two  Sicilies,  and 
last  representative  of  the  Farnese  dynasty,  the  villa  became 
the  property  of  the  Bourbons  of  Naples,  together  with  the 
palace  by  the  Campo  de'  Fiori  (recently  purchased  by 
France),  the  Palatine  gardens,  the  Villa  Madama,  and  the 
castle  of  Caprarola.  It  was  used  as  an  academy  of  paint- 
ing in  the  first  half  of  the  nineteenth  century,  and  then  the 
last  king  of  Naples,  already  banished  from  his  state,  made  a 


jrift  (if  it  to  one  of  liis  S|);inUli  supporters;  so  it  has  come 
to  pass  tliat  modern  I'liiMazoiimeiits  of  tlie  Bermiulez  family 
in  (litap  ••  s('ai;li()la  "  liavc  supplanted,  l>otli  on  the  ceiling's 
and  on  the  |tavcnu'nts,  the  glorious  old  shields  of  the  Chigi 
and  the  Farnese. 

I  must  i»-()  back  now  to  that  passage  in  Ao-ostin(/s  hic^- 
graj)I»v  which  relates  to  the  innnl)er  and  quality  of  horses 
lu-cd  on  liis  larnis  or  kept  in  his  stables.  ''He  would  rear 
),iii/t/ti>s,  AKhirconex,  and  other  such  thoroughbreds,  some 
for  use,  some  for  show,  which  were  constantly  lent  by  him 
to  cardinals  and  other  dignitaries."  The  word  mannus  ap- 
plies to  a  French  breed  of  carriage-horses  known  since  the 
time  of  Horace  for  their  speed  and  power  of  endurance,  the 
possession  of  which  was  considered  a  luxury  and  an  evidence 
of  wealth,  while  the  name  .{stnrco  indicates  a  riding-horse 
bred  on  the  hills  of  northern  Spain,  and  especially  useful  in 
the  hunting-field. 

Now  as  we  know  that  Agostino  was  not  particularly  fond 
of  sport,  as  is  the  case  with  men  of  his  temper  and  occu- 
pations, we  must  interpret  the  statement  of  the  biographer 
in  the  sense  that  popes,  cardinals,  ambassadors,  and  other 
dignitaries  were  allowed  to  make  use  of  his  hunters  and 
carriage-horses,  on  the  occasion  of  the  meets  for  which  the 
reign  of  Leo  X  has  become  justly  celebrated. 

The  hunts  in  the  Roman  Campagna  —  an  ideal  place  for 
sport  —  were  first  organized  at  the  time  of  Eugenius  IV 
(14.*H-1447)  by  Cardinal  Ludovico  Mezzarota  Scarampo,  a 
warrior  more  than  a  churchman,  the  wealthiest  man  in  the 
country,  and  a  great  breeder  of  horses  and  dogs.^    It  is  true 

'  Cardinal  Scarampo,  known  for  his  victory  over  the  Turks  at  Belgrade  and 
for  his  naval  exploits  at  Rhodes,  was  also  an  inveterate  gambler.  He  is  said  to 
have  lost  at  one  deal  with  King  Alfonso  of  Naples  eight  thousand  gold  pieces. 
Having  died  of  a  broken  heart  in  140;"),  in  consecjuence  of  the  election  of  his 
rival,  Cardinal  iiarho,  to  the  supreme  pontificate,  he  was  buried  in  the  church 


AGOSTINO   CHIGI  "  IL   MAGXIFICO"  309 

tliat  the  sacred  canons  forbade  clerics  to  take  up  sports  and 
pastimes  of  this  kind,  but  in  those  ha})py  days  such  Httle 
deviations  from    the   rules  were  easily   forsfiven.    Another 


The  Palazzo  Farnese  overlooking-  the  garden  of  Agostino  Chigi.     A  view  of  the 
district  by  the  Porta  Settimiana,  taken  before  its  modern  transformation 


name  written  in  golden  letters  in  the  annals  of  sport  is  that 
of  Cardinal  Ascanio  Sf orza,  the  Nimrod  of  the  sacred  college, 
whose  tomb  in  the  church  of  Santa  Maria  del  Popolo  ranks 
among'  the  most  perfect  works  of  Sansovino  (1505),  and 
whose  memory  is  still  preserved  in  Rome  in  the  name  of  the 

of  San  Lorenzo  in  Daraaso,  clad  in  state  robes,  with  the  episcopal  cross  and 
ring,  and  other  valuable  jewels.  The  grave  was  violated  for  the  sake  of  plunder 
by  Antonio  Tocco,  a  canon  of  the  same  church,  and  the  mortal  remains  of 
Scarampo  were  abandoned  to  their  fate  for  the  space  of  forty  years.  The 
beautiful  memorial  in  the  sacristy  of  the  canons  was  erected  in  1505,  at  the 
expense  of  the  archbishop  of  Taranto,  Heinrich  Hunis. 


'MO  At,(tsr/.\()  ciiici  ••  IL  MA(;.\i iico" 

street  (  N'icolo  d'  Ascaiuo)  wliic-li  knl  to  his  kennels  luul  luews 
ill  the  (';iiii|)()inar/l().  An  eye-witness,  Cardinal  Adriuno  Cas- 
tcHi  da  ( "oi  iH'to,'  has  left  a  description  of  a  hunt  i;i\eii  hv 
liiiii  in  the  district  of  the  Sulphur  Sjirings  on  the  road  to 
Tivoii,  in  which  the  f'ollowino;  reniarkahle  piece  of  infor- 
mation is  to  he  found  :  **  There  was  present  at  the  meet  a 
(uieldrian  named  Libs,  the  inventor  of  a  fearfid  engine  of 
dt'stniction,  such  as  not  even  the  Cyclops  could  have  devised 
lor  the  use  of  Jupiter.  It  consists  of  a  tube  of  metal  loaded 
with  sulphur,  natron,  and  ground  charcoal,  the  mixture 
being  sealed  on  the  top  with  a  lead  bullet.  Sparks,  fire, 
thunder  follow  the  shot.  The  porcupine  falls  as  if  struck  by 
lightning.""-  According  to  Cardinal  Adriano's  statement, 
therefore,  this  man  Libs  must  be  considered  as  the  inventor, 
not  of  ])ortable  firearms  iu  general,  which  had  been  used 
in  warfare  long  before  the  date  of  the  hunt  at  the  Sulphur 
Springs  (1505),  but  of  a  new  pattern  of  fowling-piece,  more 
adapted  for  the  shooting  of  game.  His  name,  however,  is 
not  mentioned  in  Dutch  or  German  biographical  dictionaries. 
The  popes  themselves  had  more  than  once  taken  an 
interest  in  hunts,  but  as  simple  spectators.  Pius  II,  Picco- 
loiiiini.  mentions  the  sport  in  his  commentaries.  Paul  II, 
Barbo.  arranged  a  hunt  for  Borso  d'  Este,  who  had  come  to 
Rome  to  be  crowned  duke  of  Ferrara,  followed  by  a  pack 
of  hounds  and  a  string  of  falcons.  A  medal  was  struck 
for  the  occasion,  showing  a  hunting  scene  with  the  motto  : 
soi.v.M  IN  FERAS  Pivs  BELLATOR  PASTOR  (the  pious  shepherd 
wages  war  only  against  the  wild  beasts).  At  the  time  of 
Sixtus  IV,  his  nephew.  Count  Girolamo  Riario,  had  planned 

^  The  builder  of  the  Palazzo  Giraud-Torloiiia  neai  St.  Peter's,  whose  career 
I  have  nientioiied  in  New  Tales,  p.  279. 

'  I  have  gathered  excellent  information  on  tliis  snliject  from  Count  Do- 
nicnico  Gnoli's  paper,  "  Le  Caccie  di  Leone  X,"  puhlislied  in  the  Nuova 
Antolngia,  vol.  xliii,  series  iii,  February,  1803. 


PART  OF  THE  TOMB  OF  CARDINAL  ASCANIO  SFORZA  IN 

THE  CHURCH  OF  SANTA  MARIA  DEL  POPOLO 

A  celebrated  work  by  Sansovino 


AGOSTINO   CHIGI  '' IL   MAGNIFICO''  313 

a  similar  entertainment  for  Duke  Ernest  of  Saxony  in  the 
woodlands  of  Campo  di  Merlo  (April  10,  1480).  Leo  X, 
however,  was  the  first  pope  to  enlist  a  regular  body  of 
huntsmen,  that  is  to  say,  to  surround  himself  with  the 
retinue  of  men,  dogs,  horses,  and  snares  necessary  to  ensure 
success  to  a  regal  sport.  He  took  it  up,  not  as  a  pastime, 
but  as  a  regular  occupation  ;  and  not  satisfied  with  a  morn- 
ing's run  in  the  outskirts  of  the  city,  he  would  scour  for 
weeks  at  a  time  the  whole  country  between  Rome  and  the 
sea,  in  accordance,  as  he  said,  with  the  advice  of  court  phy- 
sicians. And  indeed,  no  better  cure  could  he  have  found 
to  counteract  his  unwholesome  corpulency,  and  the  pale- 
ness of  his  flabby  cheeks,  than  constant  exercise  in  the 
open.  The  cardinals  who  followed  him  in  the  field,  Ludovico 
d'  Aragona,  Sigismondo  Conzaga,  Ippolito  d'  Este,  Marco 
Cornaro,  Alfonso  Petrucci,  and  Alessandro  Farnese,  were 
always  ready  —  as  it  becomes  true  sportsmen  —  to  ex- 
change the  purple  robe  for  a  gray  jacket  of  Flemish  cloth, 
the  mitre  for  the  Spanish  sombrero,  the  pastoral  for  the 
spear.  Leo  himself  wore  a  costume  which  threw  his  master 
of  ceremonies,  Paride  de  Grassi,  into  fits  of  despair.  De 
Grassi  complains  above  all  of  the  riding-boots  because,  he 
says,  how  can  people  pay  homage  to  his  Holiness  and  kiss 
his  foot  if  he  goes  about  attired  in  this  fashion  ? 

Leo  did  not  actually  follow  the  hunt  on  horseback ;  he 
was  too  stout  to  stand  the  strain  of  the  chase ;  and  there- 
fore he  sat  on  a  stand,  from  which  a  good  view  of  the  field 
could  be  obtained.  From  this  point  of  vantage  the  good 
man  gave  the  order  for  the  fray  to  begin  in  the  same  man- 
ner in  which  the  ancient  magistrate  used  to  wave  the  white 
napkin  as  a  starting  signal  for  the  chariot  races.  With  a 
monocle  to  help  his  defective  eyesight,  Leo  watched  tlie 
details  of  the  hunt,  shoutnig  words  of  encouragement  or 


:>11  A'.OST/M)    (  IIKil    -IL    MAdNIFICO" 

rrj)i(>;i(li,  waniiii^'  tlie  men  of  ini|K'n(liii^  danger,  and  tak- 
\\\^^  care  that  tlu'  laws  of  the  Held  should  he  strictly  le- 
s])e('te(l.  and  fair  play  given  to  the  sylvan  host  of  foes. 
(loiids  gathcicd  round  his  l)ro\v  if  tlie  hunt  did  not  prove 
a  success;  hut  if  ganic  had  heen  plentiful,  and  no  accident 
had  marred  the  events  of  the  day,  the  courtiers  knew  how 
to  take  advantage  of  his  good  humor,  and  many  briefs  of 
personal  advantage  to  them  were  submitted  for  his  signature 
ill  the  huiiting-ficld.  A  sad  story  is  told  in  connection  with 
this  state  of  things. 

There  was  in  the  entourage  of  the  Pope  a  young  noble- 
man, Celso  Mellini.  who  had  made  himself  prominent  by 
taking  u])  the  cause  of  his  fellow  citizens  against  a  foreigner, 
a  Belgian,  the  celebrated  Christopher  Longeuil,  who  had 
written  or  uttered  certain  derogatory  remarks  against  the 
S.  P.  Q.  K.'  Whether  on  account  of  his  success  in  this 
affair  (Longeuil  had  been  obliged  to  leave  Rome  and  Italy 
for  the  time  being)  or  of  his  personal  attractions  as  a  poet, 
orator,  and  conversationalist,  young  Mellini  was  asked  to 
join  the  hunt  arranged  for  November  7,  1519. 

A  few  days  afterwards,  while  the  Pope  and  his  guests 
were  still  disporting  themselves  at  La  MagHana,  Mellini  Avon 
so  heartily  the  good  graces  of  the  assembly  by  extemporizing 
a  set  of  flattering  verses,  that  the  Pope  then  and  there  con- 
ferred upon  him  an  ecclesiastical  sinecure  in  Sicily  worth 
several  thousands  a  year.  Although  it  was  already  late  at 
night,  and  although  a  storm  was  raging  in  the  lower  valley  of 
the  Tiber,  Celso  Mellini,  eager  to  carry  the  good  tidings  to 
his  parents,  started  homewards  with  two  or  three  followers. 
The  rain  was  so  blinding  and  the  wind  so  violent  that  at 

'  This  curious  chapter  in  the  chronicles  of  Rome  at  the  time  of  Leo  X  has 
been  admirably  illustrated  by  Gnoli  in  liis  memoir,  Un  giudizio  di  lesa  Romanitli 
sottu  Leone  X,  Rome,  1891. 


it  A  LEQ^XaEAPA  i^PLORENT  IKY^^a 


t^^Jli>^-    CREATO  D"EL  I:frV^:Ar    B.Di;MARZ,0  r  iiH7. 


fH 


THE    PORTRAIT    OF    LEO    X    ENGRAVED    BY   ANTONIO 

LAFRERI 


AGOSTINO   CHIGI  '' IL   MAGNIFICO''  317 

the  ford  of  a  small  stream,  which  had  temporarily  over- 
flowed its  banks,  rider  and  horse  were  carried  away  by  the 
flood  before  the  followers  could  render  any  assistance. 
Leo  X  was  grieved  beyond  measure  at  the  loss  of  Celso, 
and  in  memory  of  the  event  caused  a  bridge  to  be  built 
over  the  fatal  stream.  The  bridge  has  been  much  altered 
by  later  restorations,  but  the  stream  still  bears  the  name  of 
"  Fosso  di  Papa  Leone."  It  crosses  the  road  to  La  Magliana 
near  the  Iron  Bridge,  which  connects  it  with  the  road  to 
Ostia  on  the  other  side  of  the  Tiber. 

The  meets  in  the  Roman  Campagna  were  organized  in  the 
French  style,  and  from  France  came  the  best  huntsmen, 
gamekeepers,  and  dogs.  Famous  among  all  was  a  pack  of 
hounds,  sent  as  a  present  to  the  Pope  by  King  Francis  I,  in 
February,  1517,  under  the  care  of  a  Monsieur  de  Bordigle. 
To  try  the  skill  of  the  dogs  a  "  canata  "  was  given  at  La 
Magliana  for  the  space  of  six  days,  in  the  course  of  which 
many  wild  boars  were  let  loose  from  their  cages,  and  fol- 
lowed over  hills  or  plains,  through  forests  or  marshes.  This 
"canata"  and  the  hospitality  offered  to  the  French  envoy 
at  the  inn  of  the  Croce  Bianca  in  the  Piazza  di  Campo  de' 
Fiori  cost  the  Pope's  treasury  over  a  thousand  ducats. 

To  ensure  the  success  of  a  hunt  the  head-keeper  was 
first  instructed  to  ascertain  which  section  of  the  forest  or  of 
the  maremma  was  likely  to  give  the  best  sport ;  then  this 
section  was  enclosed  with  sheets  of  canvas,  each  sixty  feet 
long,  six  high,  fastened  together  with  wooden  hooks,  and 
held  upright  by  means  of  forked  poles.  These  implements 
were  noiselessly  brought  near  the  line  of  the  intended  en- 
closure on  the  eve  of  the  hunt  and  set  up  at  daybreak.  Men 
were  allowed  to  talk  only  in  whispers,  and  only  on  the  line 
of  the  paths  through  which  the  game  might  escape  into  the 
neighboring  woods.    Then,  at  a  sign  given  from  the  Pope's 


'MS  .i<i(>sr/.\()  ciiiai  - 1 l  ma'.x/f/co-' 

stunl,  aiul  traMMnitt('(l  I'lom  L;lru  to  i;loii  l)y  the  soiiiul  of 
lionis.  liaiids  (if  arclu'is.  lial!)ar(li('rs,  luousquetaires,  <>'aine- 
kfcjiris.  and  |K'asaiits  ciilistcd  foi-  the  occasion,  would  raise 
a  ^icat  (IN.  tolldwt'd  l»\  tlic  Hniii''  of  n'liiis  and  the  beating 
(d  (Uaims,  so  as  to  worry  the  i;aine  into  a  run  towards  the 
hunting"  fi«'ld  where  the  sportsmen  were  waiting-  witli  their 
spears  and  javelins. 

A  visit  to  La  Magliana,  the  hunting-lodge  of  the  popes 
(d'  the  Kcnaissance,  gives  the  student  or  the  tourist  the 
ojiportunity  for  a  }»leasant  afternoon  drive  on  the  Via  (yam- 
pa  na,  wjiich  follows  for  about  six  miles  the  right  bank  of 
the  Tihei',  amidst  scenes  of  great  rural  beauty.^  The  name 
is  a  derivation  from  the  classic  ''  Fundus  ManHanus,"  the 
subinban  farm  of  the  Maidian  family,  known  in  history  since 
the  year  'MH)  n.  c,  when  Marcus  Manlius  Capitolinus  saved 
the  Capitol  from  the  night  attack  of  the  Gauls. 

Its  site  was  marked  in  the  middle  ages  by  a  church  of 
San  Giovanni  de  Magliana,  now  destroyed.  The  foundation 
of  the  hunting-lodge  is  attributed  to  Sixtus  IV,  but  the 
oldest  wing  now  visilde,  the  graceful  portico  in  the  style 
of  Baccio  Pontelli,  dates  from  the  time  of  Innocent  VIII 
(1484-1492),  as  shown  by  the  inscription  Innoce)i{tms) 
Ciho  Geni(€n{sis),  j).  p.  VIII,  engraved  on  the  lintel  of  the 
doors.  A  stone  bench  runs  around  the  sheltered  walls  of 
the  ])ortico,  u])on  which  the  old  i)ontiif  must  have  often  sat 
warming  himself  in  the  sun,  and  enjoying  the  rest  which 
was  denied  to  him  in  the  Vatican. 

<  H'  Alexander  VI,  Borgia,  the  following  anecdote  is  related : 
As  lie  was  riding  towards  La  Magliana,  December  12,  1492, 
while  his  antagonist  and  rival.  Cardinal  Giuliano  della  Rovere, 
was  still  entren(died  in  the  castle  of  Ostia,  the  keepers  of 
the  hunting-lodge  tired  a  mortar  to  announce  his  approach. 

'  The  return  can  \w  made  liy  following  tlie  road  to  Ostia,  across  the  Tiber. 


AGOSTINO   CHIGI  '' IL   MAGNIFICO" 


319 


Pope  Borgia,  seized  by  panic  and  fearing  an  ambush  by 
Delia  Rovere's  partisans,  rode  back  in  abject  terror  to  the 
Vatican  as  fast  as  his  hunter  could  carry  him.  By  a  curious 
turn  of  fate  the  name  of  the  man  of  whom  Pope  Borgia  was  so 
much  in  fear  is  the  most  conspicuous  of  all  at  La  Magliana, 
being  engraved  on  the  frieze  of  the  new  palace,  and  embla- 
zoned on  the  architraves  of  the  windows  and  in  the  centre  of 


The  portico  of  Baceio  Pontelli  in  the  castle  of  La  Magliana 

the  vaulted  ceilings.  After  the  brilliant  pontificate  of  Leo  X 
La  Magliana  was  practically  abandoned  by  the  court.  The 
shield  of  another  Medici  pope,  Pius  IV,  is  carved  on  the 
fountain  of  the  court vard,  and  that  of  Sixtus  V  is  painted 
in  the  hall  nearest  to  the  second  landing  of  the  stairs.  This 
is  the  last  record  of  a  pope  having  resided  in  this  suburban 
retreat,  which  wvas  sold  at  the  beginning  of  the  next  century 
to  the  nuns  of  Santa  Cecilia.  It  has  fallen  now  into  private 
hands. 


320 


AGHSTJyO    CliKJl    "IL    MAdXlFICO" 


The  fountain  of  Pius  IV  in  the  court  of  La  Ma"liaua 


As  Ave  ap[)ro;icli  it  from  the  last  rise  of  the  road  over  the 
Monte  (lelle  Pielie  we  cannot  help  being  impressed  by  the 
present  loneliness  of  the  place,  so  strikingly  in  contrast  with 
the  brilliant  records  of  the  past.  And  yet  abandonment  has 
kept  La  Magliana  free  from  desecration  nntil  quite  recent 
times.  We,  the  living  generation,  are  responsible  for  it. 
\\  hen  the  nuns  of  Santa  Cecilia  leased  the  buildino-  to  the 
Civitavecchia  llaihvay  Company  in  the  last  years  of  Pius  IX, 
tlie  workmen  turned  the  Consistorial  Hall  into  a  dormitory 
and  mess-room,  driving  pegs  into  the  walls  painted  by  Lo 
Spagna.and  blackening  witli  the  smoke  of  their  cooking  the 
beautiful  carved  ceiling.  After  tlie  opening  of  the  railway 
ami  the  (l('])aitiire  of  the  la])or('rs  the  lower  part  of  Spagna's 
frescoes  was  found  much  injured  l)y  the  driving  of  the  pegs. 
The  preserved  figures,  those  of  Apollo  and  the  nine  Muses, 
were  removed  to  Rome,  and  are  now  exhibited  in  the  Pina- 


AGOSTINO   CHIGI  - IL  MAGNIFICO"  321 

coteca  of  the  Conservatoii  palace  ;  but  the  finest  work  of 
art  of  La  Magliana,  the  image  of  God  in  a  lialo  of  cheru- 
bim, painted  by  Lo  Spagna  in  the  apse  of  the  chapel  from 
the  cartoons  of  Raphael,  was  purchased  by  President  Thiers 
in  1872  and  placed  in  the  Louvre.  The  Peruginesque  paint- 
ings of  the  same  chapel,  representing  the  Annunciation 
and  the  Visitation,  transferred  likewise  to  canvas,  were  still 
waiting  for  a  purchaser  at  the  time  of  my  first  visit  to  La 
Mao^liana. 

I  am  glad  to  state  in  the  last  place  that  Michelangelo's 
name  may  also  be  mentioned  in  connection  with  this  farm. 
In  the  correspondence  of  the  master  published  by  Daelli  ^ 
we  find  a  letter  addressed  to  him  in  the  year  1510  by  Fran- 
cesco Alidosi,  cardinal  of  Pavia,  begging  him  to  contribute 
to  the  decoration  of  the  chapel,  and  suggesting  as  a  subject 
for  the  fresco  the  Baptism  of  our  Lord.  An  indirect  allu- 
sion to  this  request  —  which  Michelangelo  evidently  de- 
clined, since  no  traces  of  his  work  exist  or  have  been  known 
to  exist  in  the  chapel  —  is  to  be  found  in  the  glazed  tiles 
with  which  its  floor  is  paved,  and  which  show  the  Alidosi 
crest,  an  eagle  with  outspread  wings,  in  conjunction  with 
the  oak  and  the  name  of  Julius  11. 

The  head-huntsman  of  the  glorious  Medici  days,  Domenico 
Boccamazza,  having  lived  to  a  green  old  age,  published  in 
1548,  twenty-seven  years  after  the  death  of  Leo,  a  treatise 
on  the  hunting  in  the  Campagna,  of  which  the  only  printed 
copy  existing  lacks  the  title  ;  but  from  a  manuscript  copy 
in  the  Chigi  library  we  infer  it  to  have  been  //  cacchdor 
slfjnorUe,  "  The  Sporting  Gentleman."  What  most  aston- 
ishes the  reader  of  this  book,  so  charming  in  its  simplicity, 
is  the  regret  expressed  by  the  author  at  the  depopulation  of 
the  forests  and  the  wanton  destruction  of  game,  the  joint 

^  Carte  Michelangiolesche  inedite,  p.  14. 


:V22  Af^oSTIXO    CIIICI    "I I.    MACX/F/CO" 

result  of  till-  aliiist'  of  liicanns  and  of  tlu;  iiulilference 
shown  Itv  iIm'  later  |>oj>('s.  as  well  as  hy  landowners  in  |>un- 
isliini;-  the  poachers.  '•  Alas,"  he  says,  ''  the  days  in  wliicli 
we  true  s|)ortsinen  had  only  to  step  into  the  nearest  woods 
to  lind  plenty  of  stains  and  deer  and  wild  hoars  are  a  mat- 
ter of  the  past.  'I'lie  <;reed  of  the  peasants  and  the  inven- 
tion of  new  and  vulL^ar  instruments  of  death  have  ahnost 
destroyed  then-  race.  ' 

If  a  man  so  competent  in  liis  own  line  of  business  had 
reason  to  complain  of  the  disappearance  of  game  at  the 
time  of  Paul  111.  what  can  we  say  now  after  three  and  a 
lialf  centuries  of  ruthless  wholesale  destruction,  when,  save 
for  the  fji^ht  of  a  few  migratory  birds,  no  living-  animal  is 
left  to  enliven  the  solitude  of  our  forests?  When  we  read, 
for  iiistance,  in  the  map  of  the  Campagna,  published  by  In- 
nocen/.o  Mattei  at  the  time  of  Alexander  VII,  the  words 
'*  macchie  e  selve  di  damme"  (forests  of  deer),  engraved  on 
the  site  of  the  now  desolated  farms  of  Conca  and  Campo- 
morto,  we  almost  doubt  the  truth  of  the  statement.  And 
.igain.  when  we  read  in  the  diarv  of  a  journey  made  to  Net- 
tiino  about  1540  by  a  lady  of  rank  —  a  diary  discovered  by 
Ademollo  among  the  Strozzi  papers  in  Florence,  and  pub- 
lished in  1880  —  that  pheasants,  hares,  deer,  and  stags 
haunted  the  ruins  of  Porto  d'  Anzio  in  such  numbers  that 
with  only  two  cross-bows  at  their  disposal  the  party  could 
bring  l)ack  to  Nettuno  a  cartload  of  game,  we  can  hardly 
believe  the  record. 

Domenico  Boccamazza  ends  his  treatise  with  a  prayer 
for  the  advent  of  a  "principe  cacciatore  "  who  would  bring 
back  the  golden  days  of  Leo  X,  and  enforce  again  the  law^s 
of  fair  sport.  The  "principe  cacciatore  "  has  come  to  us  at 
last. 

King  Victor  Emmanuel  111,  who  in  the  short  period  of 


THALIA 

One  of  the  nine  Muses,  painted  by  Lo  Spagna  in  the 
Consistory  Hall  at  La  Magliana 


AGOSTIXO   CIIIGI  '^  IL   MAGNIFICO"  325 

six  years  has  brought  his  kingdom  to  a  degree  of  prosper- 
ity unprecedented  in  history,  inherited  from  his  father, 
Umberto  il  Buono,  a  love  for  the  royal  preserves  of  Castel 
Porziano.  The  latest  acquisitions  have  increased  the  area 
of  the  beautiful  property  to  a  total  of  twenty  thousand 
acres,  with  a  sea  frontage  of  nine  miles.  Here  the  stone- 
pine,  the  oak,  and  the  ilex  tower  above  the  arbutus,  the 
myrtle,  the  arborescent  rosemary,  and  other  sweet-scented 
maritime  shrubs,  under  the  shade  of  which  the  smaller  game 
finds  a  retreat.    Here  stretched  alongf  the  old  Via  Severiana 

—  the  high-road  between  Ostia,  Laurentum,  and  Lavinium 

—  the  Silva  Laurentina,  so  named  from  the  laurel  trees 
which  grew  especiallv  near  the  pond,  still  called  Pantano 
di  Lauro.  Strano-e  influences  were  attributed  to  these  trees. 
Whenever  the  Emperor  Vitellius  felt,  with  a  change  in  the 
weather,  the  coming  of  a  thunder-storm,  he  would  seek 
refuge  in  the  Silva  Laurentina,  because,  as  Pliny  remarks, 
the  trees  were  non-conductors  of  electricity.  Hither  also  re- 
paired the  Emperor  Commodus  at  the  outl)reak  of  the  plague 
in  the  year  189,  his  physicians  being  of  opinion  that  the 
powerful  perfume  exhaled  by  the  forest  would  counteract 
the  spreading  of  the  contagion. 

The  imperial  Laurentine  farm — now  once  more  the  pro- 
perty of  the  rulers  of  the  country  —  was  also  known  for 
its  breeds  of  elephants  and  peacocks.  The  first  are  men- 
tioned on  the  tombstone  of  a  Tiberius  Claudius,  "  procurator 
Laurento  ad  Elephantos,"  ^  and  also  in  Juvenal's  Satires, 
XH,  V.  101,  while  we  are  informed  by  the  Liher  PontificaUs 
that  a  section  of  the  estate  was  called  Paunaria,  from  the 
breed  of  peacocks  raised  upon  it. 

Elk,  wild  boar,  and  deer  have  now  succeeded  the  ele- 
phants and  the  peacocks  of  imperial  times  in  the  peaceful 

^   Corpus  Inscript.  Latin,  vol.  vi,  n.  8583. 


:)L'<")  MIOSTISO   CllKlI  ''IL    MAGNIFICO" 

tMiidvimiit  of  tlicse  sylvan  retreats,  under  the  personal 
vii;ilanrt'  of  our  liini;-.  Ami  as  the  same  thing-  may  be  re- 
})eated  in  connection  with  tlie  other  royal  preserves  from 
tlie  Astroni  near  Naples  to  the  snowy  crag's  of  the  Gran 
Paradiso.  where  tlie  few  surviving  specimens  of  tlie  ibex 
or  Ixuupietin  are  saved  from  extermination  by  the  king's 
keej)ers,  we  are  jnstitied  in  considering  that  the  prayer  of 
Leo  X's  head-huntsman  has  at  last  been  granted. 


INDEX 


i 


INDEX 


Accadeniia  Roniaua  d'  Archeologia  under 

Leo  X,  140. 
Aeciajuoli,  Bernardo,  discovery  of  human 

remains,  70. 
Accolti,    Benedetto,    acquires    Raphael's 

house,  litis. 
Accolti,  Bernardo,  as  a  scholar  and  poet. 

258. 
Accolti.    Cardinal    Pietro,    acquires    Ra- 
phael's house.  207. 
Aecoramboni,    Girolamo,  and   University 

of  Rome,  142. 
Adinolfi,  Pasquale,  on  Via  Papae,  40. 
Adrian  VI,  persecutes  the  courtesans,  68  ; 

tax  during-  plague,  SI. 
Agostino  da  Rocchetta,  quack.  86. 
Alberini,  Giordanello  degii,  and  the  Capi- 
tol gallows,  2i». 
Alberini,  Marcello,  on  cosmopolitanism  of 

Rome,  58. 
Albertoni,  Marco,  grave,  84. 
Albina,  Madonna,  courtesan,  305. 
Aleardi.    Aleardo,   on    Raphael's    Forna- 

rina.  232 
Alessandrina,  Via,  opened,  2o,  265. 
Alexander  VI.  opens    Borgo  Nuovo,  265  ; 

anecdote  of  fear  of  Delia  Rovere,  318. 
Alexander  VII.  and  the  plague,  85  ;  on 

the  Barberini  portrait  of    the    Forna- 

rina.  236. 
Alfani,  Domenico,  drawing  of  Raphael's 

house,  269. 
Alidosi,  Cardinal,  murdered.  272. 
Alum,  monopoly  of  Agostino  Chigi,  279  ; 

obtained  from  Turkey,  281  :   discovered 

at  Tolf a,  282  ;  revenue  from  Tolf  a  mine 

pledged   for   war  on   the    Turks,  283 ; 

prosperitv  and    decay  of   Tolfa  mines, 

283. 
Araalis,   Angelantonio    de,    inventory    of 

Michelangelo's  possessions,  187. 
Amante,  Bruto.  finds  r.emains  of  Vittoria 

Colonna,  225-227. 
Amusements,  Carnival,  35,  36  ;    "  Giuoco 

di  Testaccio,"  35.   <See  also  Hunting,  Pa- 
geants. 
Andreozza,  Franceses,  mistress  and  wife 

of  Agostino  Chigi,  30(1. 
Anguillara,  Everso  degli,  character,  55  ; 

monument,  56. 
Anguillara.  Pandolfo  degli.  54. 
Anguillara,  mediieval   house  of   the,  54  ; 

representation  of  the  holy  creche,  56. 


Animals,  wild,  live  symbolic,  on  the  Cap- 
itol, 32;  destruction  of,  in  Italy,  321, 
322  ;  present  royal  preserves,  324-32t!. 
See  also  Hunting. 

Antiquities,  edifices  damaged  by  earth- 
quake (1348),  8  ;  edifices  used  as  trade 
headquarters,  10,  11  ;  restoration  of  the 
Pantheon,  15,  21  ;  Constantia  sarco- 
phagus, 17;  aqueducts  destroyed,  27, 76  ; 
lion  of  the  Capitol,  31  ;  edifices  on  the 
Corso  (1500),  37  ;  arches  across  it,  38, 
31) ;  Horti  Largiani,  38  ;  Hecatostylon 
of  Pompey,  62  n. ;  edifices  exposed  for 
entry  of  Charles  V,  111  ;  copies  of  the 
gift  of  Attalus  I,  117;  edifices  which 
yielded  objects  for  the  Farnese  collec- 
tion, 126 ;  marble  plan  of  Rome,  130- 
133  ;  trade  in  small  objects,  134  ;  Ra- 
phael's knowledge  and  interest,  245  ;  his 
scheme  for  illustration  of  Roman,  247  ; 
execution  of  it,  248 ;  date  of  Calvo's 
map,  250-252  ;  Laocoon,  252  ;  Raphael's 
inspiration  and  models  from.  254-260, 
263-2(i5  ;  use  as  models  by  his  contem- 
poraries, 2(i5.    See  also  Marbles. 

Antonio  da  San  Marino,  Chigi  chapel,  261. 

Apothecaries,  87  ;  non-medical  trade,  87  ; 
contracts,  88  ;  pharmacopoeia,  88. 

Aqueducts,  ancient,  destroyed,  27,  76. 

Archaeology.    <SVe  Antiquities. 

Arches,  ancient,  across  the  Corso  (1500), 
38,  39 ;  Chigi's,  at  progress  of  Leo  X, 
294. 

Architecture,  scarcity  of  medifeval,  in 
Rome,  47-49  ;  Cosmatesque  school.  49  ; 
Farnese  palace,  120 ;  pontifical  apart- 
ments in  Sant'  Angelo,  136  ;  Sala  Re- 
gia,  137,  138 ;  Raphael's  house,  266- 
271  ;  Bini  house,  286.  See  also  Anti- 
quities. San  Pietro. 

Aristocracy  of  Rome,  classes  as  to  origin, 
295  ;  fictitious  genealogies,  296. 

Armellini,  Mariano,  discovers  old  census, 
57. 

Art,  and  crime,  171-174  ;  Raphael  as  apo- 
gee, 274. 

Augustus,  Forum  of,  a  bog,  69. 

Augustus  mausoleum,  38. 

Avalos,  Costanza  d',  reformer,  205. 

Avalos,  Francis  Ferdinand  d',  married  to 
Vittoria  Colonna.  19(( ;  honeymoon,  196  ; 
captured  by  Gaston  de  Foix.  197  ;  vic- 
tory over  Francis  I,  197  ;  death,   198  ; 


;J3() 


iM>i:.\ 


i|Ufsti(iii  of  tn-JisDii,  l'.l>;  (imih  opciiid 
lit  NiipU's,  ■_':;•''. 

Itiiilia.  ('.iiiliii.il.  aii<l  liKiuisilion,  L'ttS. 
Ual.lassiirc    il»l    Mil.iiif.si-.   dealer  in    art, 

I  111. 
Hankers  in  Home,  (juarters  in  sixteenth 

eeinurv,  ■_'"•>.  -77  :   lionse  of  Hini,  l!S(i  ; 

(lii^'^is   contrnl.  L'S>« ;     iiis  wealtli,    2SS. 

■_'>'.> ;  patrician  families  foiimletl  by,  "JW.") ; 

famous    names.   •J.W^'^  ;    speeimen  eaieer. 

■_".t(>-;;Oi) ;    v.'iriety    of    money    liaiuUed, 

.tlHI.  .UH 
Hauipiets.  eity.  to(iinliani)(le"  Mediei.  '.Ki- 

".»>  ;  to  Kieonor.i  d'  Aiaj^ona,  IKS  ;  Cliigi's. 

to  Leo  X.  :'.ni-:!u;;. 

Harlx-rini  gallery,  the  alleged  Foniarina. 

Harhers.  as  surgeons.  Sil ;  esteem,  S!». 

Haronino.  Hartoloineo,  and  Paul  Ill's 
improvements.  Ill;  career.  17-;  mur- 
dered. I7l'-I74. 

Barroz/i  d.i  \"iniiola.  Giaeomo.  and  mur- 
der of  Haronino.  174. 

Hartoli,  Hernardo  de",  and  A'ittoria  Co- 
lonna,  -MO. 

Hasiliea  Jnli;  despoiled  for  linie-biiniing. 
241'.. 

H.istione  di  Belvedere,  gfeneral  fortifica- 
tion i)lan.  111-  ;  Miehelangelo's  eomiec- 
tion,  lt;4-U)(>. 

Beaufort.  Counts  of.  coat  of  aims,  '1. 

Beggars.    Sn   P.iu])crism. 

Benibo.  Ciirdiual,  and  Iii<|uisition,  -l.'S, 
•-'10. 

Benedetto,  Don,  author  of  Beiieficio  di 
Crist o.  -JiKt. 

Beni'diet  XIV.  evil  renovations  under.  "Jl. 

Bfii'tirin  tli  Cristo  rerso  i  Cristiani, 
.•inthorslii|).  L'O'.I. 

Berniudez  f.-imilv  acquires  Farnese  villa. 

Bernini,   Loren/o.  restores   ("higi  chapel, 

Bersano.  (ienesio.  on  murder  of  Haronino. 
17--'. 

Bianchi,  Francesco,  dealer  in  .lutiijues. 
l::4 

Hilihiena,  Cardinal  Bernado,  and  Ila- 
l)haers  hetrothal,  '2'A() ;  atid  the  tapes- 
tries, 'S-]l   n. 

Hilihiena,  Maria,  betrothed  to  Raphael. 
*J"J'.l  ;  neglected  by  him,  2:^0 ;  death, 
'JoO ;  betrothal  forced  on  him,  2.']0 : 
marriage  post))oned,  2;51  ;  Raphael's 
repentant  epitaph,  2:!1,  240. 

Hini  family,  bankers,  loan  to  Leo  X. 
security,  2S4 ;  house  ,ind  hanking 
]>rpmises,  2N<; ;  portico  jireserved.  2S(). 

Hiondo.  Flavio,  on  Engenius  I\'  and 
Koine,    1,'). 

Black  ]ilagne  of  1:148,  7;   monument.  7. 


IJlado.  Antonio,  jjrinli  r  in  Kume,  4(> 
Hoecama'/.'/.a,  Domenico.  treatise  on  hunt- 
ing, .'121;  dei)lores  slaughter  of  game. 

Boccapaduli.    l'rosi)cro.  fills  up  the   I'an- 

t:ino.  (■>'.•. 
Honafede.  (iiusej)pe.  on  (higi.  27"). 
Houi.    (iirol.'imo.    and    Vittoria    Colonna, 

■Jin. 

Houiface  X'lll.  Jubilee,  4. 
Honorio.   Lorcu/,(j.  and  disposition  of  re- 
mains of  ^'ittoria  Coloiuia.  220,  221. 
Horghese.  Marcantonio.  saiiitarv  measure, 

74. 
Borgo   Niiovo,  Via  di.  opened,   2i!,  2(J5; 

Itaphaers  house.  2r)()-2(')!t 
Borgo    Vaticano,    Rosselliuo's   plan,    10; 

unhealthiness.  7"». 
Bosco,  Maso  del.  work  on  tomb  of  Julius 

II.  ISl. 
Bramante,  work  on  Raphael's  house,  266 ; 

poor    builder,     200 ;    ceilings     in    the 

atelier,  27U. 
Branconi     dall'      Aquila,      Giaiibattista, 

Raphael's  executor,  281 ;  keeper  of  the 

elephant,  272. 
Bridges,  restored,   11,  I").  IS;   Ponticello, 

(il) ;  repairs  of  Santa  Maria,  100. 
Britons,  church  in  Rome,  <i2. 
Bruno,  Giordano,   momiment,   21o;    as   a 

reformer.  21o. 
Bufalini.  Leonardo.  ])lan  of  Rome,  1 14. 
Hufalo   de'    ('anccllii'ri.  Angclo  del.    and 

Haul  Ills  improveuieiits.  111. 
Bulls,    Boniface    A'lII's   Antiquornm,   4; 

Clement    A'l's     Unigenitus.    7 ;    Martin 

\"s   et  SI    ill    cunctanim,    10;    Leo   X's 

l)um  suarissiinos,  141. 
Hussis.  Giannandrea  de.  and  early  print- 
ing. 4"). 

Caetani.  Cardin.-d  Knrieo,  street  cleaning, 

74. 
Caliiio.  Andrea,  on  persecution  of  coiirte- 

s;ins,  OS. 
Calvin.    Jean,    mystery    of    flight    from 

France  (ir);io),    214;   plan   at    Ferrara, 

214  ;  life  there,  21")  ;  plans  frustrated, 

210  ;  escape,  210. 
Calvo,  Fahio.  map  of  ancient  Rome.  248; 

when     published,     24S-2.")2  ;     relations 

with   Ha))liael,  2.")1  ;    killed    in   sack  of 

Rome,  2.")2  ;   as  tutor  of  Federico  Con- 

z.aga.  2")2. 
Camerino.  Duchess  of.    See  Cibo. 
Camilla,  famous  courtesan.  04. 
Cam|)agna.    consols    cause   abandonment, 

28".      >SVc  also  Hunting. 
Campano,    Giovanni    Antonio,   and    early 

])rinting.  4."). 
Cami)o  de'  Fiori.  Piazza,  paved.  102  n. 
Cancellieri,  Francesco,  on   Via  Papae,  40. 


IXDKX 


331 


Capitol,   in   1500,  28;  marbles  from,  2S; 

gallows,  20;  market,  o1-;j4  ;   symbolic 

animals,  02. 
CapoditViro,  Evangelista  Macklaleni,  lec- 
tures, 140. 
Capodit'erro,  Mai-cello,  magistnis  viarum, 

11. 
Capranica,    fame,     l.')()  ;     tradition    con- 
cerning Michelangelo,  li'ili-l.-jS  ;  church, 

lion,  and  painting   by  him,  158. 
Caprarola.  Faruese  estate,  l."]S. 
Caprini,  Adriano,  house  on  Borgo  Nuovo, 

2(i(). 
Capuchins,  vicissitudes,  203  ;  and  Vittoria 

Colouna,  20o  ;  as  reformers,  204. 
Caracalla,  baths  of   Farnese  excavations, 

127. 
Caracciolo.  Antonio,  and  "Compendium" 

of  Inquisition  processes,  208. 
Caradosso  as  goldsmith,  25o. 
Caravita,  Gregorio,  cure  for  the  plague, 

84  ;  medical  contract,  8(!. 
Carnesecchi,    Pietro,    reformer,    martyr, 

199, 206 ;  on  heresy  of  Vittoria  Colonna, 

203. 
Carnivals,  first,  35 ;  Jew  racing,  35,  36  ; 

punishments  during,  30. 
Carrillo,  Cardinal  Alfonso,  repairs  Santi 

Quattro  Corouati,  12. 
Castel  Bolognese,  Giovanni  Bernard!  da, 

goldsmith,  174. 
Castel  Perziano,  royal  preserves,  325. 
Castelli    de    Corneto,    Cardinal    Adriano. 

palace.  272  ;  on  Libs"s   fowling   piece. 

310. 
Castrio'tto,  Jacopo  Fusti,  fortifications  of 

Rome,  1<50. 
Castro,   Giovanni  de,   discovers   alum  at 

Tolfa,  281-283. 
Cavalieri,    Tommaso   de'.  Michelangelo's 

friend.  l''^7;  claims  a  cartoon,  ISS. 
Cavallini.  Pietro.  Last  Judgment,  178-180. 
Cemeteries,   as  sources   of  infection,  70 ; 

discoveries  of  large  ossuaries,  70,   73 ; 

as  refuse  heaps,  73. 
Census    of   1517,   date,  57 ;    discovery  of 

results,  57  ;  facts  concerning,  57. 
Cesarini,  Giovanni  Giorgio,   arms  monu- 
ment, 42 ;  feast  to  Giuliano  de'  Medici, 

96. 
Cesarini.  Cardinal  Giuliano,  as  a  patron 

of  art,  41. 
Cesarini  villa.  41,  42. 
Charles  I  of  England,  and  Michelangelo's 

Cupid,  149. 
Charles  Y,  Emperor,  sack  of  Rome,  107- 

109;  triumphal  entry,  110. 
Chigi,  Ao-ostino.  carries  off  the  Fornarina, 

240  ;    V-hapel.     261-2()4  ;    birth,    275  ; 

financial   power,   275,  288 ;    as  an    art 

patron,  275,  289 ;  no  adequate  record. 

275  ;  manuscript  biography,  276 ;  rise, 


279;  monopolies,  salt  monopoly,  27'.'- 
2.S1  ;  causes  a  war,  280  ;  alum  monopoly, 
2S1-L'84;  averted  run  on  his  bank,  288; 
instance  of  shrewd  bargaining,  288 ; 
wealth,  288,  2S0 ;  protector  of  Sodoma, 
290 ;  no  relation  with  Michelangelo, 
290  ;  originality  of  art  conception,  293  ; 
triumphal  arch  to  Leo  X,  294 ;  like- 
nesses. 2115;  position  based  on  wealth, 
295  ;  banquets  to  Leo  X,  301-303  ;  and 
Fedeiico  Conzaga,  303  ;  love  affairs, 
303,  30();  and  Paul  IIL  305 ;  his  ille- 
gitimate children,  .KX);  marries  their 
mother,  306 ;  his  villa  passes  to  the 
Farnese,  306  ;  its  subsequent  history, 
•  !07  ;  horses,  .308. 

Cliigi,  Alexander,  son  of  Agostino,  3)06. 

Chigi.  Camilla,  daughter  of  Agostino,  30(). 

Chigi,  Fabio,  restores  Chigi  chapel,  262 ; 
biography  of  Agostino,  27* >. 

Chigi,  Lorenzo,  prodigal  and  maniac, 
.306. 

Chigi,  Margherita,  daughter  of  Agostino, 
30(1. 

Chigi,  JSigismondo,  mausoleum,  261,  26)2. 

Chigi  chapel  in  Santa  Maria  del  Popolo, 
Raphael  designs,  261  ;  finished  by 
other  artists,  261,  262 ;  neglected, 
262  ;  restored,  262  ;  Raphael's  Woman 
of  Samaria,  263. 

Church,  R.  W.,  on  Dante  and  reform,  212. 

Churches,  condition  in  1350,  9,  10  ;  re- 
pairs mider  Martin  V,  11  ;  improved 
by  Nicholas  V,  15  ;  Estouteville's  work, 
21-23;  external  aspect  (1500).  27; 
mediasval  San  Saba,  49-53  ;  of  foreign 
colonies,  60-()3.  See  also  San  Pietro 
and  other  churches  by  name. 

Cibo,  Caterina,  and  Capuchins,  203. 

Cibo,  Cardinal  Lorenzo,  grave,  18. 

Claudius.  Emperor,  triumphal  arch,  39. 

Clement  VI,  Jubilee,  Bull  Unigenitus,  4. 

Clement  V^II,  and  Tiber  w-ater,  79  ;  and 
University  of  Rome,  142 ;  issues  consols, 
284. 

Clergy,  number  of  Roman  (1350),  10; 
uneducated,  58. 

Colimodo.  surgeon,  contracts,  86. 

Coliseum  damaged  by  earthquake  (1348), 
S. 

Collections,  Cesarini.  42  ;  Massimi,  43 ; 
rational  plan  for  Italian,  135 ;  Odes- 
calchi,  299.    See  also  Farnese  palace. 

Colocci.  Angelo.  Accademia  Romana  d' 
Archeologia.  140. 

Colonna.  Ascanio.  reformer,  208,  210. 

Colonna,  Giovanni,  plague  memorial,  7. 

Coloima,  Oddone.    See  Martin  V. 

Colonna.  Stefanello.  riot  against,  33. 

Colonna.  Vittoria,  and  TuUia  d'  Aragona, 
(i4;  and  Federieo  Conzaga,  151;  and 
Michelangelo,    195,     199,     200,      219; 


o.yj. 


IXDKX 


earlv  vcars.  I'.'"i;  niaiTia^e,  lioiifyiiKinii, 
l','<'> ;  jjiH'try.  vfiu'i-ation.  I'.Mi  ;  pi-D- 
BoriWfil  paiiiplili't.  I'.'T  ;  wiilowluxid. 
I'.'S  ;  and  Iut  liushaiui's  nicinory.  I'.'S; 
lift'  tif  si-fliisioii.  I'.'S;  and  Juan  N'ahU's 
and  I'luiroli  n-foiin.  1  !•'.•- li(M  ;  as  a  type, 
I'iMt;  n-forni  poems.  I'tMt;  and  the 
("apurliins.  "Jdo  ;  corn'spoiidcnce  witli 
Maif^^iu'iiif  of  N'alois.  _'iH;  not  a  dis- 
st-ntiT.  -i>4  ;  reform  doi-trine,  20."), '21  I  ; 
considered  arcli-lieretie  by  Inipiisitiun. 
•_'<«»;  and  Pole.  L'ld;  and  Hen^e  de 
Kranee.  -IT;  last  years.  2 IS;  will, 
dirertions  for  hnrial,  "JIS;  death. '-'IS  ; 
eortin  abandoned  in  ehurpli  of  .Sant' 
Anna,  L'lU:  exeentors  violate  their 
trust.  L'l.'<i;  record  of  preparations  for 
burial.  'l'l^^-l'l-\  \  remains  not  found  in 
.'^ant'  Anna.  '1'1\\,  'I'lA ;  surmises  of 
dis])osition.  'l'l-\  ;  found  in  Naples,  '1'2')- 
■_'■_'"  :  Ivoman  indifference  to  her  mem- 
ory. ~-~. 

Commodus.  Emperor,  and  Silvia  Lanren- 
tina.  '<')'!'>. 

Constantia  sarcoijliapus.  17. 

t'ontarena.  Cardinal,  and  Inquisition,  200. 

Conti.  Torre  dei.  damaged  by  earthquake, 
'.1. 

Contrada  dei  Hanchi.  loses  caste,  2T() ; 
aspect  preserved,  liTt) ;  modern  destruc- 
tion. I'TT  ;  families  represented  there. 
L".M'i;  specimen  career,  2',)t)-;;ou  ;  varie- 
ties of  money.  ;!(>().  ;5(11. 

Con«»j^a.  Cardinal  Ercole,  value  of  palace, 
114. 

Conzajja.  Federico.  portrait  by  Francia, 
recovered.  l-")0;  char.acter  and  influence 
at  Home.  l.")I  ;  Raphael's  portraits  of, 
l.">'_'.  *J."i4  ;  and  Miclielanjjelo,  1.").")  ;  in- 
terest in  the  Laocodn.  'I'^'l ;  in  other 
antiquities.  '2't'.\:  and  Agostino  Chigi, 
;!0:i ;  moral  training  in  Rome,  303- 
;!<)."i  ;  its  results.  ■■!()•">. 

Conzaga.  Oinlia.  reformer.  20.").  200. 

Conzaga.  Isabella  d'  Este,  and  Michel- 
angelo's Cupid.  147.  14S;  portrait  of  her 
son.  I'~)0. 

Con/jiga,  Cardinal  Sigismondo,  as  hunter, 

;!i:;. 

romaro.  Cardinal  Marco,  as  hunter,  .313. 

Corso.  Via  del.  Carnival.  ;!.")-37  ;  length 
(l.iOO).  ;;7.  ;!.s  ;  classic  ruins  on.  ;'>7  ;  im- 
pnivenients  by  Paul  IH.  112;  property 
on  (l.ViS),  li;;.  114:  views  .and  pl.ins, 
114. 

Cortese.  Cardinal,  and  Inquisition.  20s. 

Co8matesf|ue  school  of  architecture.  49. 

Counterfeiting  in  inediieval  Rome.  ."».">. 

Courtesans  in  Rome,  |)osition  of  the  re- 
fined, (i.;.  :;ii4.  ;j(i.-, ;  fatuous.  04-07: 
beh.ivior  and  refinement.  ti7  :  persecu- 
tion, <>.S;   number,  <»8  ;  quarters,  <i8. 


Crime  among  artists,  171-174. 

Cupid     of     Michelaugelo,     copy     of     an 

antique.  140;  its  wanderings  and  fate, 

14(i-14lt. 

Dante,  at  Jubilee  of  1300,  4  ;  and  Refor- 
nuition,  212. 

"  1  );iu7,atri('i  Borghese '"  ;is  original  of 
lia])li;icrs  \Voman  of  .Samaria,  20."j ; 
;iiii)tlier  replica,  20.'j. 

Debt,  public,  institution  of  Luoghi  di 
Monte.  2S4 ;  earlier  method  and  secur- 
ity. 284. 

Denietrios,  black  art  in  plague  of  ir)22,  .S2. 

Dente  da  Ravenna,  Marco,  as  engraver, 
250. 

Diego  de  Haro,  Chigi's  agent,  2S3. 

Dirce,  group  of,  found  in  baths  of 
Caraealla,  128;  attempt  of  Louis  XIV 
to  purchase.  128. 

Disasters,  black  plague  of  1348,  7  ;  earth- 
quake of  1.348,  7-'.',  plagues.  80-S,"j ; 
floods.  02-lM);   sack  of  l.'>27.  1U7-1O0. 

"  Donna  Velata  "  as  portrait  of  the  For- 
narina,  230. 

Dosio  da  San  Geminiano,  Giovanni  An- 
tonio, and  ancient  plan  of  Rome.  130. 

Drainage,  lack  of,  O'.t. 

Duca,  Giacouio  del.  ciborium,  174. 

Duca,  Jacopo  del,  friend  of  Michelangelo, 
187. 

Diirer,  Albrecht,  and  Marcantonio.  2.')5. 

Du  Thou.  Jacques  Auguste.  and  Michel- 
angelo's Cupid,  147. 

Dutillet,  Canon,  with  Calvin  at  Ferrara, 
215. 

Eleonora  d'  Aragona,  reception  in  Rome, 
20  ;   banquet,  OS. 

English  headquarters  at  Rome,  60. 

Engraving,  Marcantonio,  254-25(5. 

Erb;i.  Haldassare,  sells  Odescalchi  col- 
lection. ;'.o(). 

F!ste.  Alfonso  d'.  price  of  salt  and  war 
with  Julius  II.  2S0. 

Este.  Eleonora  d".  Vittoria  Colonna  god- 
mother to.  217. 

Este,  Cardinal  Ippolito  d',  as  huntsman, 
313. 

Estouteville,  Cardinal  Giullaume  d', 
we.alth  and  magnificence.  21  ;  artistic 
gifts.  21.  22  ;  obsequies.  23  :  moves  the 
market.  34. 

Eugenins  ly .  Rome  Tinder.  14. 

Eustachio  da  Macerata.  Filippo.  cenotaph, 
101. 

Falda.  Giovanni,  sketch-book,  114. 
Fano.  Cardinal  di.  and  Iu(|uisition.  208. 
Farnese,    Cardinal    Alessandro   (1).     See 

Paul  III. 
Farnese,  Cardinal    Alessandro    (2),  com- 


INDEX 


333 


pletes  Farnese  palace,  1-2  ;  will  forbids 
removal  of  Farnese  collection,  128;  an- 
tiquarian interest,  12'.';  artistic  legacy 
to  Rome,  lo6 ;  estate  at  Caprarola, 
lo8  ;  acquires  Chigi's  villa,  iSOti. 

Farnese,  Alessandro,  Duke  of  Parma, 
marriage,  120. 

Farnese,  Antonio,  last  Duke  of  Parma, 
12U. 

Farnese,  Giulia.  and  Alexander  VI,  101. 

Farnese,  Odoardo,  and  Orsini  collection, 
188. 

Farnese,  Orazio,  marriage,  119. 

Farnese,  Ottavio,  betrothed  to  Margaret 
of  Austria,  115  ;  her  entry  in  state,  115, 
116. 

Farnese  family,  royal  marriages,  115, 119, 
120. 

Farnese  palace,  construction,  103,  115, 
120-12o;  nucleus  of  museum,  104; 
events  leading  to  the  removal  of  its  col- 
lection, 120  ;  source  of  stone  and  mar- 
bles for,  123;  collections,  125;  source 
of  statuary,  125-128  ,  removal  of  col- 
lections forbidden,  128  ;  collections  re- 
moved to  Naples,  129,  135 ;  Orsini  col- 
lection, 133-135. 

Farnese  villa,  Chigi's  banquets  to  Leo  X, 
301-303  ;  adjoins  that  of  Paul  III,  305  : 
sublet,  306  ;  transferred  to  Alessandro 
Farnese,  306  ;  property  of  the  Bourbons 
of  Naples,  307  ;  passes  to  the  Bermu- 
dez  family,  308. 

Fattore,  II,  and  Raphael.  271. 

Ferrara,  Calvin's  plan  and  visit,  214-217. 

Ferri,  Alfonso,  and  University  of  Rome, 
142. 

Fiesole,  Mine  da,  ciborium  in  Santa  Ma- 
ria Maggiore,  21. 

Filelfo  on  Nicholas  V,  16. 

Finances.  See  Banking.  Debt. 

Flaminio,  Mareantonio.  and  Vittoria  Co- 
lonna,  203 ;  and  Bene/icio  di  Crista, 
209 ;  on  death  of  Vittoria  Colonna, 
219. 

Floods,  periodical,  90  ;  deposits,  90  ;  sud- 
den inrush  due  to  the  old  walls,  93  ; 
worst  fatalities,  94 ;  commemorative 
tablets,  94-96 ;  of  1598,  95. 

Foligno,  fair,  288. 

Food,  variety,  98. 

Foreella,  Vincenzo,  funeral  inscriptions, 
59. 

Fornarina,  Raphael's  love.  229  ;  favored 
over  his  fiancee,  230  ;  antecedents,  231  ; 
name,  232,  244  ;  traditional  liomes,  233  ; 
connection  with  the  Sassi  palace,  234. 
235,  244  ;  as  Raphael's  model,  235  ;  al- 
leged portraits,  the  Barberini,  236 ; 
the  "  Donna  Velata,"  239  ;  the  Uffizi, 
239;  spirited  away  by  Chigi,  2411; 
Raphael's    final    ingratitude,    240 ;   his 


provision  for  her,  243  ;   subsequent  fate, 

243,  244. 
Fortifications,  purpose  of  Paul  Ill's,  162  ; 

Sangallo's  plan,  163.    See  also  Bastione 

di  Belvedere. 
Foscolo,  Ugo,  on  Dante  and  Reformation, 

212. 
Francia,  Francesco,  portrait  of  Federico 

Conzaga,  150. 
Francis  I,  captured,  197 ;  gift  of  hounds 

to  Leo  X,  317. 
Fregoso,  Cardinal,  and  Inquisition,  208. 
Frescoes,    Giotto's   Jubilee,  4  ;     Pintnric- 

chio's,    in  !San    Cosimato.    18;  in    first 

San  Saba,  50  ;  Cavallini's  Last  Judg- 
ment, 178-180. 
Fulvio,  Andrea,  Antlqiiilates,  248. 

Gaddi,  Giovanni,  and  Machiavelli's  works, 
46. 

Gadio,  Stazio,  preceptor  to  Federico  Con- 
zaga, 151  ;  leads  him  into  temptation, 
304. 

Galletti,  Pier  Luigi,  funeral  inscriptions, 
59. 

Gallows  on  the  Capitol,  29,  30. 

Galluzzi,  Angelo,  on  Chigi,  275. 

Gasparoni,  Benvenuto,  identifies  Michel- 
angelo's last  dwelling,  186. 

Gaston  de  Foix,  victory  in  Italy,  197. 

Germans,  church  in  Rome,  61,  62. 

Gherardi,  Silvestro,  on  abstraction  of  In- 
quisition records,  207. 

Ghinucei,  Stefano,  partner  of  Agostino 
Chigi,  279. 

Giacomelli.  Giacomo,  professor  of  philo- 
sophy, 142. 

Giannetto,  Guido,  and  Vittoria  Colonna, 
210. 

Giotto.  Jubilee  frescoes.  4. 

Giovanni  de  Romanis.  physician,  87. 

Giovannoli.  A16,  sketch-book,  114. 

Giovio,  Paolo,  on  cure  for  the  plaguc,  84. 

Giulia,  Via,  opened,  23. 

Giulia  villa,  construction,  172. 

Giunta.  Bernardo,  pirates  Machiavelli's 
works.  46. 

"  Giuoco  di  Testaccio,"  35. 

Gnoli.  Domenico.  on  Raphael's  atelier, 
270. 

Goldsmith  work.  Mino  da  Fiesole's  cibo- 
rium, 21  ;  Michelangelo's  designs.  174; 
Caradosso's  work,  253 ;  mitre  of  Julius 
II,  285. 

Goritz.  Johann,  Accademia  Romana  d'  Ar- 
cheologia,  140. 

Grassi.  Paride  de,  Leo  X's  master  of 
ceremonies,  313. 

Gregory  IX,  Torre  delle  Milizie,  53. 

Gregory  XI,  return  to  Rome.  1  ;  memo- 
rial, 1,2. 

Gregory  XIII  and  Tiber  water,  79. 


IM'hX 


(«ri'j;ory    X\  I    iMTiuiis   remov.il   <>f    Kar- 

iit'.Ho  I'ollfi-iiKii,  I  ■-"•'■ 
GroHHiiio  as   iiiior  of   Fedt-rico  Conzajja, 

;!o». 
(luvof  |{ouli»j;in.-siir-nier,  Cardinal,  Jiibi- 

\vi>  i.f  i;'.:.tt.  <i. 

(Jvpsio,  BiTliiiK'-ii",  and  tli.-  beffjjara. 
Kxi. 

Iladiian    VI    and    Inivcisity    of     Home, 

Halm,  riritli.  printi  r  in  Konu'.  44. 

Health.  plaf;u.'S.  7.  M>-S') :  lack  of  drain- 
age. I'l'.l;  infection  from  cemeteries.  7* • ; 
refuse  heaps.  7;'..  I'M  :  street  cleaninj;. 
74;  of  tlie  liorp)  Vaticano.  7">  :  drink- 
inj;  water.  7t>->>";  hardy  constitutions, 
7!*.  5"'.    ■S»«'  (ilsii  Medicine. 

Hecatostylon  of  I'ompey,  remains.  (>_'  n. 

Heeniskerk,  Martin,  panorama  of  Rome, 

Hippolytns.  .Siint.  -jTave  disturbed,  lOtJ. 

Honoriiis.  walls  of,  and  tlie  Hoods,  1)3. 

Hoi-ses.  stud  of  Aj;o8tino  Chij^i,  o08. 

Horti  L.-iri^iani,  '•>>>. 

Hunis.  Heinrich,  memorial  to  ."Scarampo. 
:;(»!•  n. 

Hunting,  cardinal  sportsmen,  3(>8-;>l(l; 
interest  of  popes.  310;  Leo  X's  hunts. 
:!l;;  ;  Francis  I's  •;ift  of  hounds.  'Ml  ; 
"  cantata  "  to  test  them.  317  ;  method. 
317  ;  LaMa<;liana.  the  lodfje,  31S-3lM  ; 
Bocoamazza's  treatise. 'J31  ;  wanton  de- 
struction of  grame,  :!'J1,  3_'_*  ;  present 
royal  preserves.  3'22-32(). 

Iniperia.  famous  courtesan,  l»4,  07;  epi- 
taph, 117. 

Incunabula,  by  Schweinheim  and  Pan- 
iiartz.  4."i :  Koman  edition  of  Machi- 
avelli.  4ti. 

Innocent  N'll  and    University  of   Korae, 

14H. 

Innocent  VIII  and  La  Maijliana.  3 IS. 

In(|uisition  in  Italy,  archives  inaccessi- 
ble. "J'M'i;  records  of  activity  a<;ainst 
It.'ilian  reformers,  L'()('i--J(l'.l ;  Trinity 
Collefje  volumes  of  trials,  '20C<;  "Com- 
pendium." "JOS;  activity  ajrainst  asso- 
ciates of  Vittoria  Colonna.  '20',);  blind- 
ness to  purpose  of  reformers,  210,  213  ; 
and  <":dvinat  Ferrara,  21t'>. 

Is.ilielia  de  Luna,  famous  courtesan.  04. 

lsol:ini,  C.'irdinal  (liaconio,  re)iairs  Sant' 
Eustaehio,  12;  :ind  lime-making  from 
ancient  marbles,  24t). 

Jacobn.s,    Ma.ster,     rebuilds     San     Saba, 

.".0-.-.::, 

.lean  Robert,  perfumer,  epitaph.  OO. 
Jews,  and  the  Carnival,  3."),  3(> ;  as  phy- 
sicians, S">. 


.luaii  d.'  .Mil,  Ciii;;is  .•1','^ent,  2S3, 

Jui)ileeH.  importance.  3  ;  (Jiotto's  frescoes, 
4  ;  of  13()(t,  4  ;  of  i:'..".0.  4-7,  H. 

.lud^nient  of  I'aris,  Raphael's,  Marcan- 
tonio's  engraving,  2.")4  ;  classic  models 
for,  2,")(i;  impression  created,  2r)7  ;  re- 
])roductioiis.  2,"')7  ;  Raphael  borrows 
motives  from  it.  2."),S. 

Julius  II,  and  Federico  Conzaga.  1")], 
l.')2  ;  tomb,  |S()-ls;i  ;  wanderings  of  his 
remains,  ISU  ;  cause  of  war  on  Alfonso 
d' Este,  2S();  mitre,  2.^.")  ;  anecdote  of 
Alexander  ^'^s  fear  of,  31S, 

Juturna,  fountain  of,  rediscovery,  im- 
purity. 7S. 

Lafreri.  Antonio,  engraving  of  Raphael's 
house,  21  is. 

La  Magliana,  papal  hunting-lodge,  318  ; 
construction,  .'IIS;  anecdote  of  Alex- 
ander VI,  318  ;  connection  of  Julius  II 
with, 3111;  abandoned  by  the  court.  iJl'.t; 
desecration  in  present  generation.  320  ; 
removal  of  paintings.  320 ;  Michel- 
angelo requested  to  decorate.  321. 

Laocoon,  interest  of  Federico  Conzaga  in, 
2-)2, 

La  Rochetaille.  Ciirdinal  Jean  de,  rebuilds 
San  Lorenzo  in  Lucina,  12. 

Lascaris.  John,  at  University  of  Rome, 
140. 

Last  Judgment,  Cavallini's,  178,  170; 
earlier  ones,  170;  originality  of  Michel- 
angelo's, ISO. 

r>ata,  \'\:\.    See  (\)rso. 

Lateran  palace.  Eugenius  I\' rebuilds,  lo. 

Leo  X.  and  University  of  Rome,  140  ;  and 
ancient  marbles,  24() :  Rome  under, 
272-274:  and  Tivoli,  2S0 ;  loan  from 
the  Bini  house,  2s4  ;  Agostino  Chigi's 
triumphal  arch  to,  204  ;  his  banquets 
to,  301-:!03;  as  a  luinter,  313,:  and 
Celso  Mellini,  .314;  Francis  I's  gift  of 
hounds  to,  317. 

Leoni  d'  Arezzo,  Leone,  medal  of  Michel- 
angelo, 103;  original  model  of  it,  104. 

Leoni  d,a  .Siena,  Diomede,  Michelangelo's 
friend,  1S7. 

Leonina,  Via,  opened,  23. 

Libs,  fowling  piece.  ."JIO. 

Lion  of  the  Capitoline  market.  31. 

Longeuil,  Christopher,  and  Celso  Mellini, 
314. 

Longhi.  Martino.  .-iciiuires  Michelangelo's 
house,  ion. 

Longhi,  Onorio,  character,  100, 

Longhi,  ,Stefano,  owns  Michelangelo's 
house,  100. 

Lorenzetto.  Martino,  Chigi  chapel,  2fil, 
2i'>4  :  probable  use  of  antique  copy,  205. 

Louis  XIV.  desire  for  the  group  of  Dirce, 
128. 


INDEX 


335 


Lowell.  James  Russell,  on  Dante  and  re- 
fonii,  'J.\'l. 

Lucrezia  Portia,  famous  courtesan,  07. 

Luiiji  Gonzaga.  San.  memorial.  S4. 

Luoyhi  di  Monte,  first  issue,  L'84 ;  great 
increase,  287 ;  cause  abandonment  of 
Campagna.  287  ;   interest  reduced,  287. 

Luther.  Martin,  in  Rome.  27o. 

Luzzi.  Margherita.  probable  name  of  Ra- 
phael's Fornarina,  li-14. 

Macharone,  Mario,  excavations  in  baths  of 
Caracalla.  ll'S. 

Machiavelli.  Roman  and  pirated  editions. 
4(;. 

Madaraa  palace,  residence  of  Margaret  of 
Austria,  1  Kj ;  as  residence  of  Alfonsina 
Orsini,  117;  present  use,  118. 

Madama  villa,  vicissitudes,  118  ;  residence 
of  Margaret  of  Austria,  119  ;  dispersion 
of  its  marbles,  ll'.'. 

Madoinia  degli  Angeli.  Michelangelo's  ci- 
borium.  174. 

Madrema.  famous  courtesan.  tU. 

Madrucci.  Cardinal,  and  Inquisition.  208. 

Maffei  da  Volterra.  Mario.  Aecademia  Ro- 
mana  d"  Areheologia.  140. 

Mag'gi,  Giovanni,  view  of  Rome.  114. 

Mannetti.  Latino  Giovenale,  on  Xieholas 
V.  ICi;  work.  21].  101;  and  reception 
of  Charles  V,  111  ;  and  destruction  of 
the  temple  of  the  Sun,  124 ;  statue  to 
Paul  IIL  145. 

Manriquez.  Isabella,  reformer,  flees,  205. 

Manuzio.  Aldo.  as  a  printer.  45. 

Marbles,  ancient.  Capitol  as  quarry.  28 ; 
in  Orvieto  duomo.  48  ;  use  in  mediaeval 
Rome,  51-5o  ;  quarters  of  the  industry, 
63 :  from  structures  around  San  Lo- 
renzo fuori  le  Mura,  103-107  ;  destruc- 
tion of  temple  of  the  Sun,  123  ;  for  Sala 
Reg'ia,  137.  130  ;  Leo  X"s  edict  against 
lime-burning'.  246 ;  lime-burning  in 
Basilica  Julia.  246.  See  also  Antiqui- 
ties. Sculpture. 

Marcantonio  Raimondi.  engraving  of 
Judgment  of  Paris.  254  ;  early  life.  255  ; 
Vasari's  wrong  statement  of  imitations 
of  Diirer.  2.55  ;  engraver  of  Raphael's 
works.  250 ;  licentiousness  of  plates, 
256  ;  later  years,  256. 

Marchiani.  Orazio.  and  Tullia  d'  Aragona. 
65. 

Margaret  of  Austria,  betrothed  toOttavio 
Farnese.  115;  state  entrv  into  Rome. 
115.  116. 

Margherita,  Raphael's  Fornarina.  See 
Fornarina. 

Margherita  of  Mantua  and  Agostino 
Chigi.  303. 

Marguerite  of  "\'alois  and  Vittoria  Co- 
lonna,  204. 


Mai'iano,  Frate,  jester,  305. 

Marino,  Vittoria  Colonna's  retreat  at,  106, 

Market,  Capitoline  (1500),  31;  punish- 
ment of  debtors,  .31  ;  marble  lion,  31  ; 
popular  outbreak  (13.53),  32  ;  local  he- 
roes, 33  ;  removed,  34. 

Marot.  Clement,  at  Ferrara.  215. 

Martin  V.  begins  reconstruction  of  Rome, 
10;  small  results,  11;  administration, 
12. 

Massimi  villa,  collection,  42 ;  printing 
press,  4.5  ;  wrecked  and  rebuilt,  47, 

Mazoechi,  Jacopo,  Epigrammata,  248. 

Medici.  Alessandro  de',  assassination,  115. 

Medici,  Giuliano  de',  banquet,  06-08. 

Medicine,  plague  cures,  84 ;  classes  of 
practitioners.  85  ;  Jew  physicians,  di- 
ploma. 85  ;  remuneration,  contracts.  86  ; 
prescriptions,  87  ;  apothecaries,  87,  88  ; 
pharmacopoeia,  88 ;  barbers  as  sur- 
geons, 80. 

Meleghino.  Jacopo,  career.  165  ;  and  Bas- 
tione  di  Belvedere.  165;  fall.  166. 

Mellini,  Benedetto,  on  despoiling  of  San 
Lorenzo.  104. 

Mellini.  Celso.  story  of,  314. 

Mer-.Saba.  Roman  church,  49. 

Mesa.  Torre.  123. 

Michael  de  Zamora.  Jew  physician,  85. 

Michelangelo,  and  Tullia  d"  Aragona.  64  ; 
imitations  of  antiques,  146,  155  ;  Cupid, 
its  wanderings  and  fate,  146-149 ; 
works  in  England,  149,  156 ;  and 
Federico  Conzaga,  1.55 ;  chiselling 
without  sketch  or  clay  model.  155 ; 
traditional  flight  for  murder.  156- 
158;  church  of  Mary  Magdalen  at 
Capranica.  158  ;  Lion  of  Capranica. 
158 ;  possible  painting  at  Capranica. 
1.58;  Pieta  of  Palestrina.  150;  popular 
admiration  for.  lliO;  and  bridge  of 
.Santa  Maria.  HiO;  enclosure  around 
column  of  Trajan.  161  ;  Bastione  di 
Belvedere,  16)2-166;  his  subordinate 
connection,  16();  character,  166-171. 
184  ;  St.  Peter.  16(>-171  ;  and  graft. 
171 ;  designs  for  goldsmith  produc- 
tions, ciborium.  dinner  service.  174  ; 
Last  Judgment,  pay.  177;  ferryboat 
owner.  177;  orgnnality  of  the  Last 
Judgment.  178-180;  tomb  of  Julius 
II.  180;  share  in  the  completed  por- 
tion. 181  ;  the  Moses,  182  ;  existing 
accessories  of  the  tomb.  182  ;  models 
of  the  Moses.  182  ;  and  his  servant  Ur- 
bino.  183;  arrested,  1S5  ;  last  house, 
185-187  ;  death.  187  ;  inventory  of  be- 
longings. 187-189 ;  unfinished  work, 
188  ;  fate  of  his  Roman  houses.  189, 
190 ;  fate  of  other  things  associated 
with  him.  190  ;  body  stolen  from  Rome, 
191  ;  wrongly  supposed  cenotaph,  191 ; 


IShEX 


luiHt   ill  tlio  ("oiiRervntori  piilaio.  ll'l  ; 

n-pliinnof  it.  I'.'-;   I,«M>m>'«  iiii-diil.  I'.'-'i ; 

iiriwiiml   iikmIi-1  nf  tliin,    I'.M  :  and   \'it- 

inri:.  (  ..l..iiiia.    l'.''>.  1!''.'.  -'tHi.  •Jllj:  ami 

ICa|ili:ii-rs  .Iiitl^Miii'iit   of   I'uris,  •_'.")^  ;   no 

irlatioiis    with    A>;'>*"'"o    t'l>»Ki-    -"•'^'  '< 

aii.l   Hapliail.  •_".H>-l.''.f;5 ;    and    La  Ma- 

i;liaiia,  •'•'J I. 
Middle    Aj;i'8.     scan-ity    of    n  mains     in 

KoHH«.  »T-»".> ;  vcstiijt's,  4'.t-.".t'.. 
Mili/ia,    Franccsoo,    on     Michelangelo's 

Mos..H.  IM'. 
Mili/ic.  Torri-  dfllc  ori<.Mii  and  hero  myth, 

.Vl;  nie<li»«val  views,  "i.! ;  mutilated.  ■')4. 
Minio.  Antonio,  ami  Miiludangclo,  l!S2. 
Mint  of  Konif.  juvsitvimI.  L".Mi  n. 
Mirvjw,  Nii'holas,  itharmacopoMa.  88. 
Moii.-y.     nii-diii-val     conntfrffiting.    55; 

varii'ty  i-nrrcnt  in  Komi'.  ;'.<lO.  .".01. 
Montflnpo.    K.iffaoUe  da.  work  on  tomb 

..f  .Inlins  II.   ISl. 
Moniis.    l;..man    (l.">nO-15L'.'.),    oOl',    oO;3. 

Sn  iils'i  ( 'oiirtpsans. 
Mnrhiis  ^alliens,  first  appearance,  84. 
Morone.    Cardinal,    reformer,    206;    and 

Ini|nisition.  L'<>8. 
Mosi-s.  .Mifln'lan;;:elo"s.  18'J  ;  models,  182; 

pl.'i.ster  iMst.  is;!;  position  altered,  18o; 

honia};e  of  the  Jews,  18;). 
Miiiitz.   Knj;^ne,  on  date  of  Calvo's  map, 

2.M. 
Miiratori.  Lndovico    Antonio,  on   Calvin 

at  P'lTnini.  21<). 
Musi  N'ene/.iano,  Afjostino.  as    engraver, 

'J'ti'i. 
Miiti.  Ora/.io.  connection  with  the  arrest 

of  Miihelaiifjelo.  1S4,  IS."). 
Miitis.  Paolina  Portia    d^,  medical    con- 

tniets.  SO. 

Nanni  di  Haccio  liigio  and  Santa  Maria 

hriiljrp.  ItlO. 
Naples.  F.'irnese  collection,  120,  129. 
Navona.  I'iazzi.  market,  .'>4. 
Nello.  .Viirlrea  di,  dealer  in  antiques,  134. 
Nieliol.xs    y.    inii)rovements   under,    15  ; 

flees  from  the  jilaijue.  SI. 
Nuinalio.  Cardinal,  treatment  during  the 

sack.  loT. 

Oi-hiiii.  Bernardino,  and  Vittoria  Colonna, 

2<>;i;    general  of  C.ipiichins.   reformer, 

•.'(14.  i'im;. 
Odesealehi.  Paolo,  art  interest,  2'MK 
(>de<u-alchi   family,    ri.se.  2'. IS  ;  .xs  art  col- 

leetow.  2'.>'.»;   collection  sold,  '■'<(»>. 
Olivieri.  Henvemito,   acrpiires  Ilaphael's 

lious«-,  2t>S. 
Olivieri.  Pietro  Paolo,  memorial  of  Gre- 

k'ory  XI.  2. 
Ormni.    Alfonsina.    finds  ancient  statues. 


( )isini.  Hertoldo,  riot  against,  killed.  -Vi. 
Orsiui.  Fuivio,  loliectioii.  i;!;i;  connection 

with  dealers.   |;;4. 
Orvieto.  ancient  marbles  for  duomo,  48. 
Ostia.  salt-works,  2S1. 

r.iddvaii.i.  fainiiiis  eomles.iii.  <iT. 

I'.i^eanls.  reception  of  Kleoiniia  d'  Ara- 
eoiia.  20.  '.IS;  bantjiiet  to  (iiuliaiio  de' 
Medici. '.'•>-". IS;  on  election  of  Paul  III, 
10!);  triumph.il  entry  of  Charles  V, 
110;  entry  of  Margaret  of  Austria,  115, 
llti;   Popes"  progresses.  2!);j-205. 

Paintings,  in  Santa  Elisabetta,  02;  at 
La  Magliaiia.  ;!20.  -SVc  also  Frescoes, 
Michelangelo.  IJaphael. 

Paleario.  Aoiiio,  not  author  of  Beneficio 
di  Cristo.  2011. 

Palladio.  Andrea,  drawing  of  Raphael's 
lu)use,  2fiU. 

Pallavicino.  Cardinal  Antoniotto,  wan- 
derings of  his  remains,  2(i2. 

Pallavicino,  Cardinal  Sforza,  on  Cliigi, 
275. 

Palluccelli,  Antonio,  marbles  for  Sala  Ke- 
gia.  i:!T. 

Paniiartz.  Arnold.  i)rinter  in  Rome  and 
Siil)iaco.  44.  45. 

Panta.  famous  courtesan,  (57. 

Pantagato.  Domenico,  called  da  Capra- 
nica.  15(i. 

Pantano.  till. 

Pantheon,  restored,  15;  disfigured,  21. 

Panvinio.  Ouofrio,  and  the  ancient  mar- 
ble plan  of  Rome,  Kll. 

Papae.  \'ia.  in  1500,  ;39;  papal  progresses, 
40  ;   inhabitants.  40. 

Parma.  Dukes  of,  120. 

Passeri,  Bernardino,   dealer  in  antiques, 

i:U. 

Passion  of  the  Bedeemer,  Vittoria  Colon- 
na"s  pan)phlet.   I'.l". 

Paul  II,  Carnival.  ;!5.  ">C> ;  and  hunting, 
:]10. 

Paul  III.  and  Tiber  water.  79  ;  and  mod- 
ern Rome.  It'l  ;  cardinalship.  Kll  ;  resi- 
dence ,is  cardinal,  KM  ;  wanderings, 
102  ;  begins  reconstruction  of  Palazzo 
Farnese.  lO-!,  115;  retinue  as  cardinal, 
107.  lOS;  during  sack  of  1527,  107; 
popular  enthusiasm  over  election,  109  ; 
improvements  in  Rome.  111.  112.  K^t)  ; 
apartments  in  Sant"  Angelo.  i;'>('):Sala 
Regia.  i;;7.  i;)S:  I'niversity  of  Rome, 
142;  death.  14;!  ;  chanicter.  accomplish- 
ments. 144  ;  appearance,  144  ;  tomb.  144 ; 
statue  on  the  Capitol.  145  ;  fortifications, 
lt>2;  and  Juan  \'ald(^s.  100;  and  Agos- 
tino  Chigi,  ;ill.")  ;  as  hunter  when  cardi- 
nal. ;!i;;. 

Paid  IV  pledges  the  Tolfa  alum  mines, 

28;J. 


INDEX 


337 


Pauperism,  99  ;  workhouses,  99  ;  licensed 
beggars,   100. 

Penni,  Giaufraiicesco.    See  Fattore 

Perfumers  dabble  in  chemistry,  89. 

Peruzzi,  Baldassare,  rebuilds  Massimi 
villa.  47;  and  Meleg'hino,  Km. 

Pescara,  Marchioness  of.  ISte  Colonna, 
Vittoria. 

Pescara,  Marquess  of.    See  Avalos. 

Petrarch  on  Rome  in  lo.JO,  10. 

Petroni,  Alessandro,  on  Tiber  water,  78. 

Petrucci.  Cardinal  Alfonso,  murdered, 
27-  ;    as  hunter,  -Slo. 

Physique,  evidences  of  superior,  79,  96. 

Pi^ta  of  Palestrina,  Michelangelo's,  159. 

Pintor  on  cure  for  the  plague,  84. 

Pinturicchio.  frescoes  in  !San  Cosimato,  18. 

Pirovano  and  Bosio,  traders  in  Rome,  301. 

Pisa,  ancient  marbles  for  duomo,  4S. 

Pitti  gallery,  the  Donna  Velata,  239  ;  clas- 
sic model  for  Vision  of  Ezekiel,  2(jl. 

Pius  II,  flees  from  the  plague,  81 ;  and 
hunting,  ;'>10. 

Pius  IV  and  La  Magliana,  319. 

Pius  VI,  permits  removal  of  Farnese  col- 
lection, 129  ;  reduces  interest  on  papal 
consols,  287- 

Pius  VII,  permits  removal  of  Farnese 
collection,  129. 

Pizzullo,  Giovanni,  buys  Cesarini  garden, 
42. 

Plag-ue,  visitations,  7,  80;  provisions 
against,  SO.  82 ;  temporary  measures 
only,  81  ;  flight  of  the  court,  80 ;  refu- 
gees driven  back,  82 ;  black  art  and 
expiation,  82  ;  closing  of  gates  and  the 
river,  82  ;  mementos,  83,  84  ;  cures,  84 ; 
Alexander  VII  during,  8o. 

Plan  of  Rome,  ancient  marble,  discovery, 
130  ;  loss  of  fragments,  131  ;  wander- 
ings, 132  ;  present  condition,  132. 

Platina,  Bartolomeo,  on  Rome  in  1417,  10. 

Poetry,  universality  of  habit,  197. 

Poggio  as  a  copyist,  44. 

Pole,  Reginald,  reform  leader,  20-") : 
Henry  VIII's  wrath  against,  attempts 
against,  205  ;  reform  principle,  205 .  and 
Inquisition,  200,  208  ;  and  Vittoria  Col- 
onna, 210,  220. 

Pollajuolo,  Antonio,  candelabra,  181. 

Pontelli,  Baccio.  improvements  of  Rome, 
IS  ;  Sant'  Aurea  cathedral,  21. 

Ponticello,  09. 

Ponzetta,  Cardinal,  treatment  during  the 
sack,  108. 

Population,  distribution  (1500),  24,  27, 
90  n.;  census  of  1517,  57;  cosmopolitan, 
58-60  ;  church  centres  of  foreign  colo- 
nies, (iO-63  ;  physique,  79,  96. 

Porcari,  Nicholas,  magistrus  viarum,  11. 

Porta,  Guglielmo  della,  tomb  of  Paul  III, 
144. 


Porticus  Vipsania,  38 

Porto    Ercole,    controlled     by    Agostino 

Chigi,  283,  289. 
Portogallo,   Arco   di,    39 ;    dispersion    of 

parts,  39. 
Prices  of  works  of  art,  134,  149,  231  n. 
Printing,  introduction  in  Rome,  44-46. 
Priuli,  Alvise,  and  Vittoria  Colonna,  203. 

Quinones,  Cardinal  Francisco,  value  of 
palace,  114. 

Raimondi.     See  Marcantonio. 

Rainaldi,  Girolamo,  designs  church  of 
Santa  Elisabetta,  ()2. 

Raphael,  and  Federico  Conzaga,  152,  254 
mysteries,  229 ;  will  not  found.  229 
love  afl^airs,  229-244 ;  no  saint.  229 
treatment  of  his  affianced  wife,  230 
goaded  into  the  betrothal,  230  ;  post- 
pones the  wedding,  231  ;  repentance 
and  memorial  to  her,  231  ;  order  and 
payment  for  tapestry  cartoons,  231 ; 
antecedents  of  tlie  Fornarina.  231  ;  her 
name,  232,  244  ;  her  traditional  homes, 
233-235;  use  of  her  as  a  model,  23.5; 
alleged  portraits  of  her,  236-240; 
character  of  his  love  for  her,  240 ; 
his  final  ingratitude,  240 ;  provisions 
for  her,  243;  her  fate,  243,  244; 
epitaph  on  date  of  his  deatli,  244  n. ; 
contemporary  praise  as  archseologist, 
245  ;  not  justified,  245  ;  as  superintend- 
ent of  antiquities,  246 ;  controversy 
with  Gabriele  de  Rossi,  247  ;  scheme 
for  illustration  of  the  antiquities,  247  ; 
collaborators  in  it,  248  ;  execution  of  it, 
248  ;  date  of  map,  248-252  ;  inspiration, 
models  from  the  antique,  2.54,  258-260, 
263-265 ;  Marcantonio's  engravings, 
256  ;  classic  models  for  Judgment  of 
Paris,  256 ;  other  motives  borrowed 
from  the  Judgment,  258  ;  Chigi  chapel 
at  Santa  Maria  del  Popolo.  261  ;  Greek 
original  of  his  Woman  of  Samaria,  263- 
26)5  ;  acquisition  of  his  last  house,  266 ; 
Bramante's  connection  with  it,  266, 
270  ;  sold  by  executors,  2()7  ;  wealth, 
267  n. :  subsequent  owners  of  house,  267, 
2()8  ;  location,  views,  268.  2()9  ;  recon- 
.struction,  269  ;  atelier  preserved,  270  ; 
loggia,  271  ;  group  which  assembled 
there,  271  ;  view  from  it.  272  ;  king  of 
art,  demands  for  his  services,  274  ;  and 
Michelangelo.  290-293. 

Ratti,  Nicola,  on  the  supposed  Michel- 
angelo cenotaph,  191. 

Reformation  in  Italy.  Juan  Vald^s,  199  ; 
spirit  of,  in  Rome  under  Paul  III, 
199  ;  not  anti-Catholic,  199,  204.  211- 
214;  Vittoria  Colonna,  200-204  ;  Capu- 
chins,  203 ;   interest  of  Marguerite   of 


:j:38 


i.\i>i:x 


Vitlom.  '."Ol ;    pn>niiiii'iit   woiiu-n,   I'n^  ; 

l'oI««  Ito  lf!lll«T.  Vilfllxt  lUH  ««Miti-t',  l.'0.'i; 
luwif  |>riiiri|>U'.  _'<>.".  ;  li-ndt-rs.-K  Viterbo. 
'.IMl ;  iiv:iilit))U>  iti-oIiIh  iif  activity  of 
Iin|UtMti.>iiaKi»i"'«t."_'ll«i-L'(><t;  aiiivitv  iif 
Iii<|iii!tiii<>ii  aijaiiist  aasin-iales  of  Vit- 
toria  Coloiiiia.  'Ji<tl;  niistiiuIei'stoiMl 
by  liii|uisiiioii.  I'ln;  mitl  Daiito.  •_'!•_'; 
KoMtfitiH  inisb'ailiii};  stali-inciits.  'l\-\ 
iiioiiiiiniiit  to  Urmiii.  'Jl.l;  Calvin  at 
Ktrriia.  •J14-.'1T;    uliy    it    faileil.   L'lT. 

Kciiai'<^H:iiii-i-.  bf;;iiiiiiiii;'  at  Ikoliu-.  '1- 

Ki'iit^-  ill'  Kninci',  ami  Calvin.  •_'14-217; 
an  rt-nfrv  of  n-foini.  214  ;  and  N'ittoria 
<  'olonna.  °.'IT. 

Ki-ni,  <iiii<Io.  ti-adition  conciininf;-  his 
Crufihxion.  l.">7. 

Hinrio.  (iirolnnio.  t-state,  20:  and  limit- 
ing. ;:i»t. 

Rii»ri<».  Canlinal  Pietft>,  extiavagauce,  I'O ; 
n'ce|iiion  of  Klfonora.  "Jti. 

Hiooiandli  da  Noltcrra.  Daniele.  Micliel- 
anu'clo's  frit-nd,  isT  ;  bust  of  Michel- 
anpl.i.  nU. 

Hi|)«-tia.  \'ia  di,  opened.  'I'd. 

Hodocanaclii.  Kniniaiiiud,  on  courtesans, 
•  >;! ;  on  Calvin  at  Ffiraia.  '1\A. 

Honiaiio,  (iiidio,  and  licentiousness  of 
Marcautoiiio's  fnj]^raviiif;.s,  2.")(). 

Konic.  I'njic  returns  to.  1.  -\  transition 
to  Heiiaiss;iiice  period,  '1  ;  Jubilees,  ."i-T. 
l» ;  |>ln^iies,  7.  SO-S.")  ;  earthquake,  7- 
!• ;  devastated  condition  ( JIioH-H  17), 
'.•-11;  Martin  V's  bull  on  recon- 
stnirtion.  Id;  trade  headquarters,  10; 
results  uniler  Martin  \',  11;  under 
Eupeiiins  IV.  14  :  under  Nicholas  V, 
l"i;  uniler  .Sixtns  W.  10- KS;  pajjeants, 
•JO.  liiO,  111),  11.-,.  11(1.  2<t:j--«).-, ;  new 
streets.  2:; ;  area  ( loOD).  24.  00  n.  ;  mo- 
notony of  aspet't,  27:  Capir<d,  2S-:',4  ; 
streets  (l.'i(Mi).  :;4-41  ;  iiitn.diictioii  of 
printin;;.  44-4ti:  niedijeval  remains.  47- 
.-)•>:  census  of  ir)17.  "»7 ;  character  of 
IMipulation.  .-)*i-0.". ;  eonrtesaus.  O^J-OS; 
sjinitation.  0'.i-70;  drinkinj;  water.  70- 
>*<•;  medical  science.  S5-00 ;  floods. 
02-'.M". :  feasts,  OO-OS;  pauperism.  00. 
lixi;  I'aul  III  and  mod.m.  101,  112; 
sack  of  1.-.27.  ln7-100;  aiiuieiit  marble 
plan.  |:'.0-l:};j;  University,  loO-H:} ; 
indifference  to  memory  of  her  great 
nien.  22>  ;  unmerited  monuments,  228; 
under  Leo  X.  272-274  ;  cla-sses  of  patri- 
cian families,  20-> ;  variety  of  current 
coin.  ;;(K^),  :iltl.  .See  a/.s-o  "Antiquities, 
Kankera. 

Rowwdlino.  Bernardo,  jilan  for  Borgo 
V;itican<i.  10. 

Koss»-tti,  D.ante  Gabriel,  wron'^^  state- 
in-  nfs  concerning  the  Italian  Refomia- 


llossi.     (rabriele     de,     controversy     with 

Kaphael,  247. 
Kovere,  I  )omenico  della,  palace.  272. 
Uovere,   Francesco  Maria  della,   murder, 

272. 
Kubens.     Peter     Paul,     reproduction    of 

Ivaphael's  .Iiidgmeiit  of  Paris,  2.")7. 

Sack  of  i:)-'7.  m7-l(iO. 

Sacrijiaiite.  ( '.inlinal.  and  ln<jiiisitioii.  208. 

.Sadoleto.  Cardinal,  and  lii(|iiisiti(iii,  208, 

Sala  lieyia  of  the  N'atic.iii,  construction, 
source  of  marbles,   lo7,  l-!"^. 

Salt,  Chigi's  monopoly,  270  ;  method  of 
making,  270;  importance  in  sixteenth 
century.  2S0 ;  war  over  price,  280; 
works  at  Ostia  destroyed,  281. 

Saltan-lla,  courtesan,  04. 

Salviati.  Cecchino.  Chigi  chapel.  262. 

Salviati  family,  value  of  palace,  114. 

San  Celso,  Via  di.  improved,  10. 

.San  CoNimato  in  the  Trastevere,  18. 

San  1  )oiiitMiico  Maggiore,  Naples,  tomb  of 
^'ittoria  Colonna,  22rj-227. 

Sangallo.  Antonio  da,  the  younger,  and 
reception  of  Charles  V,  110;  Farnese 
palace.  120;  Sala  Regia,  lo7;  fortifi- 
cations of  Rome,  103,  104  ;  and  Meie- 
gliiiio.  10.-). 

San  (iiovanni  de'  Fiorentini,  confraternity 
of  the  Pi^ta.  SJ. 

San  Giovanni  in  Laterano  damaged  by 
earthquake.  S. 

Sanitation.     See  Health. 

San  Lorenzo  fiiori  le  Mura.  surrounding 
structures  despoiled.  I(i;!-107. 

San  Lorenzo  in  Lucina,  rebuilt,  12;  Reiii's 
Crucitixion.    l-)7. 

San  Mareello,  ])lague  monument.  82. 

San  Paolo  fiiori  le  Miira  ruined  by  earth- 
quake. S. 

San  Pietro  in  \'aticaiio.  Michelangelo's 
autocratic  management  of  construction, 
Ii'i7-i7i  ;   corruption  in  building,   171. 

San  Pietro  in  \'iiicoli,  tomb  of  .Julius  II, 
isi. 

San   Saba,  first   basilica,    10:   rebuilt.  ."lO- 

Santa    Cecilia    in    Trastevere,  Cavallini's 

Last  Judgment.   178-180. 
Santa  Elisabetta  de  fornari  Tedeschi,  01, 

02. 
Sant'  Agostino,  reconstruction,  alterations, 

Santa  Maria  bridge,  repaired,  11  ;  Michel- 
angelo aii<l  ri'pairs,   UiO. 

Santa  Maria  della  (^msolazione,  story  of 
the  Virgin  image.  20. 

Santa  Maria  della  Pace  and  water- 
carrieis.  70. 

Santa  Maria  del  Popolo.  grave  of  Alber- 
toni,  84  ;  (,'higi  chapel,  201-265. 


INDEX 


339 


Santa  Maria  in  Aracceli,  plague  inenioiial, 

7. 
Santa  Maria  Maggiore,  ciborixini.  21. 
Santa  Maria  sopre  Minerva,  flood  tablets, 

ii4.  ;•(). 

Sant'  Andrea  degli  Scozzesi,  60. 

Sant'  Andrea  de  Marniorarii,  eliapel  dis- 
covered, iS'l. 

Sant'  Angelo,  Castel,  moat  as  source  of  in- 
fection, 7<i ;  pontifical  apartments,  lo(). 

Sant'  Anna  de  Funari,  connection  of 
Vittoria  Colonna  with,  218  ;  her  remains 
abandoned  in.  2IU ;  body  not  buried 
there,  2213,  224. 

Sant'  ApoUonia  congregation  receives  the 
Fornarina,  24o,  244. 

Santa  Prisca,  baptismal  font,  52. 

Sant'  Aurea  at  Ostia,  21. 

Sante  Bartoli.  Pietro,  on  a  discovery  of 
human  remains,  T-l. 

Sant'  Eustachio  repaired,  12. 

Santi  Apostoli,  basilica  collapses,  8  ;  re- 
paired, 1 1 . 

Santi  Quattro  Coronati  repaired,  12. 

Sant"  Ivo  de'  Brettoni,  (51 ;  demolished, 
earlier  chapel,  (12. 

San  Tommaso  degli  Inglesi,  60. 

Sant'  Onofrio,  Tribuntio  Squazzetti 
tablet,  oo. 

Santorio.  Giulio  Antonio,  "Compendium  " 
of  Incpiisition  processes,  208. 

Santorio,  Paolo  Emilio,  "  Compendium," 
208. 

Santo  Spirito  gate,  164. 

Santo  Spirito  Hospital,  reform  under 
Sextus  IV,  17. 

Sant'  Uffizio,  Inquisition  archives,  206. 

Saracina,  Margherita,  wife  of  Agostino 
Chigi,  ;;t)(). 

Sassi  family,  collection  of  antiques,  12(). 

Sassi  palace  and  Raphael's  Fornarina, 
235,  236,  244. 

Searampo,  Cardinal  I^udovico,  Rome 
under,  15  ;  as  a  sportsman,  308  ;  and 
gambler,  308  n.  ;  death  308  n. ;  grave 
violated,  30!*  n. ;   memorial  309  n. 

Schenfeld,  Johann  Ileinrieh,  painting  in 
Santa  Elisabetta,  ()2. 

Schweinheim,  Conrad,  printer  in  Rome 
and  Snbiaeo,  44,  45. 

Schweikert,  Peter,  and  church  of  Santa 
Elisabetta,  62. 

Scipio  de  Manfredis.  physician,  85. 

Scotch  headquarters  at  Rome,  60. 

Scoto,  Gianbattista,  and  Vittoria  Colonna, 
210. 

Sculpture,  copies  of  the  gift  of  Attains 
I,  117  ;  ancient  marble  plan  of  Rome, 
130-133.  See  also  Antiquities,  Collec- 
tions, Marbles,  Michelangelo. 

Sebastiano  del  Piombo,  and  the  Uffizi 
"  Fornarina,"  239  ;  Chigi  chapel,  262. 


.Septa  Jidia,  arcades,  38. 

Serra.  Giacomo,  and  courtesans,  66,  304. 

Servants,  cardinal's  retinue,  1(I7,  108. 

Sforza,  Cardinal  Ascanio,  as  a  sportsman, 
309. 

Sfrondato,  Cardinal,  and  Inquisition,  208. 

Sicciolante,  Girolamo,  frescoes  in  Sant' 
Angelo,  136. 

Silva  Laurentina,  influences  attributed  to, 
325;    ancient,   and   present    royal    pre- 
serves, 325. 
!  Silvestre,  Israel,  sketch-book,  114. 

Sinionetta,  Cardinal,  and  Inquisition,  208. 

Siri,  Abate,  and  attempted  purchase  of 
group  of  Dirce.  128. 

ISisto,  Ponte,  18. 

Sixtus  IV,  as  the  Great  Builder,  16-18; 
financial  difficulties,  18-20 ;  and  the 
water-carriers"  Madonna,  7U  ;  flees  from 
the  plague,  81  ;  tomb  moved,  181  ;  and 
hunting,  310;  and  La  Magliana,  318. 

Sixtus  V,  workhouses,  10(J  ;  improvements 
under,  112;  and  La  Magliana,  319. 

Sodoma,  II,  patronage  of  Agostino  Chigi, 
290;  dismissed  at  tlie  A'atiean,  290; 
"  Wedding  of  Alexander,"  29(). 

Soranzi,  Vittore,  and  Vittoria  Colonna, 
210. 

Spagna,  Lo,  jiaintings  at  La  Magliana, 
320. 

Speranza,  Madonna,  medical  contract,  86. 

Squazzetti,  Tribuntio,  memorial  tablet  to, 
33. 

Stampa,  Giovanni  Antonio,  and  murder  of 
Baronino,  173,  174. 

Stefanoni.  Biagio,  headquarters  for  trade 
in  antiques.  134. 

Stern,  Ignatius,  painting  in  Santa  Elisa- 
betta, ()2. 

Streets,  improvements  under  Nicholas  V, 
1() ;  under  Sixtus  IV,  17 ;  various, 
opened,  23  ;  named  after  trades.  60; 
unsanitary  condition,  73-75  ;  courtesan 
quarters,  68 ;  imj)rovements  under 
Paul  III,  112  ;  opening  of  Borgo  Nuovo, 
2()5. 

Strozzi,  Filippo,  on  discovery  of  ancient 
statues.  117. 

Subiaco,  first  printing  in,  44. 

Surgery.    See  Medicine. 

Taddeo  di  Bartolo,  frescoes  in  Sala  Regia, 

137. 
Tapestries,  Raphael's,  remuneration    for 

cartoons,  231  n.  ;  cost  of  making,  231  n. 
Tarpeian  Rock,  location,  37  n. 
Taxation  for  street  improvement,  112. 
Tebaldeo,  Ippolito,  and  Federico  Conzaga, 

253. 
Tempesta,  Antonio,  view  of  Rome,  114. 
Temple  of  the  Sun,  marbles  from,  for  Far- 

nese    palace,    123 ;    size,     124 ;     other 


:)io 


iM>i:.\ 


niriifturi'H    liiiilt    from,   1-1  ;   compli'ti- 

<li'ut|i|M-iiniiii'<',  iL'-t. 
Tivoli  itiKl  L«-.i  X,  JSO. 
Tiiio,    SiKiHiiioiido.    mi    I'liijji's   baiunu't, 

;!«n.'. 

TiKvo,     Antonio,     violiiteH      Scaninipos 

trriivo.  .'Utll  II. 
Tolfii.  nlnin  tlist-oviTt'd  at,  I'M';   revenue 

for   iTiiHadi'    nf^aiiiHt    tlie    Turks,   2S;> ; 

|ir\>t|H'rity  niiil  tlcoay  of  mines,  I'SJ. 
Tomniasi,  Fr;iiii'esco,  partner  of  Af;:o.stino 

Chip. -'Tl'. 
Tortora,  famoim  courtesan,  tlT. 
Towers,  ("onti. '.•;  Milizie,   "»o,  .")4  ;  Mesa, 

12.;. 
Tm<ie,     lie:t>l<|narters     in      ancient     edi- 
fices, 111;  nationality  and  <|uarters,  .')'.'. 

•  '■<>:     ai»otliec!»rii-s,    S7-"^'.l;    perfuiucrs. 

Ml;  l>arl)ers.  >^'.' ;  in  small  am  i(|iu's.  I.I  I  ; 

art   prices,   V.'A ;    monopolies  of    Aj;()s- 

tino  •"iii;ri,  2T!>--S4.    .See  aUo  Bankers, 

Market. 
Trajan,  column  of,  Mielielanjfelo's  enclos- 

ur.'.  I"!l. 
Tnijjin,  foriim  of,  marbles  from,  for  .Sala 

Ke-ia,  l:;s. 
Trinity  Collejje,    Dublin,    Inquisition    re- 
cords, bow  procured,  L'OT. 
Tullia  d'  Arafjona,  famous  courtesan,  (14- 

f.ii. 
Tnrini  da   IVscia,   IJaldassare,  IJaphael's 

executor,  !.':'>  1  ;   villa,  'l'.\x. 

Uccello,  P.aolo.  view  of  Konie,  .")."i. 

I  Mine.  Giuvamii  da.  and  Ii.iphael,  271.         ' 

I  iiiversity  of  Home,  ori'.;iii,  K!'.!;  under 
Leo  X,  140;  professorships  then,  141  ; 
dfcay.  141;  Paul  III  revives,  142; 
pH'sent  condition,  14"-'. 

I'rbiiio,  Michelimj^felo's  servant,  183  ;  ad- 
venture, ls4.  |s."». 

L'ffizi   K""*'""^'.  'lie   alleged  "  F'ornarina," 

Vacca,    F'laniiiii n    marbles    from    the 


Capitol.  21  •  ;  on  .a  I.'iri^r  o.ssuary,  7'*; 
on  building'  of    the  Faniest!  i)alace.  120, 

Va(ja,  I'erino  del,  frescoes  in  .Saiit"  Aiifjelo, 
l.ifi ;  ceiliiiji  of  tjala  Kegi.i.  l.'JT;  other 
paintin;;'s,  2.'^ti. 

N'aldt's.  .luaii,  unsuspected  reformer,  lit'.*; 
.111(1  \'ittori;i  Colomia,  l!>'.l. 

\'allati,  liiui'ii/.o.  or.ator  at  banquet  to 
(tiiiliaiio  de"  Medici,  07. 

N'aiini,  Francesco.  Cbig;i  chapel.  2r)2. 

^'asari,  (iiorpio,  frescoes  in  Sala  liefiia, 
l.!7  ;  on  Meleghino,  Km  ;  misstate- 
ments coiiceniinj;-  Marcaiitonio,  2.")."). 

Vatican.  Sala  lie<;ia,  1;17,  l.'lS;  IJastione 
di  Belvedere.  ICc'-KK; :  Last  Judgment, 
177-1S(I;   l;;ii)haers  tapestries,  2;!  1    n. 

Venezia.  P.-ila/zo  di,  value,   114. 

Vent.tdour.  (Jciald.  .Jubilee  of  lo.")!).  !l. 

X'criuiuJi.  Pii'iid  Martire,  reformer.  2(t<i. 

W'spasiau.  Emperor,  inscription  on  pedes- 
tal to.  14."). 

Vespasiano  as  a  copyist,  44. 

Vettori,  Piero,  ;ind  'rullia  d'  Aragona,  (j*). 

Victor  Emmanuel  III,  game  preserves, 
o22-:i2(i. 

Visconti.  C.  L..  search  for  body  of  Vit- 
toria  Coloima,  22o. 

Vision  of  Ezekiel  in  Pitti  gallery,  classic 
model,  2(11  ;    Raphael's  work,  201. 

Vitellcschi  da  Corneto,  Cardinal  Giovanni, 
lioiiie  under,  lij. 

\'itelli,  Ales.sandro,  Medici  plunder,   11."). 

Vitellius.  Emperor,  and  Silva  Laurentina, 
:]2."). 

Viterho  as  centre  of  reform,  205. 

Volterra.  Daiiiele  da,  ceiling  of  Sala  Re- 
gia,  1.".7  ;  and  Michelangelo.  29o. 

Water,  supply  (l.")0()),  27;  destruction  of 
aqueducts,  7<i;  sources,  77;  condition 
of  springs,  7S  ;  quality  of  Tiber,  7'"^,  711 ; 
water-carriers,  7'J,  SO  ;  contracts,  80. 

Zuccari,  Federico,  frescoes  in  Sala  Re- 
gia,  iy7. 


>Ciu'  Oilursitii-  piLsa 

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